Dear GEO members,
Your union (the Graduate Employee Organization or GEO) is holding elections to fill one half-time (0.5 FTE) assistantship position on the Organizing Committee. Self-nominations can be submitted starting Monday, March 2, to geo@umb.edu.
The GEO Organizing Committee comprises 8 UMass Boston graduate assistants working collaboratively to advocate for graduate employee rights and enrichment opportunities at UMass Boston. Some of the projects on which the Organizing Committee is currently working include:
- Engaging with graduate employees and community members of UMass Boston to organize collective action and increase membership engagement
- Administering Scholarly Support Funds (SSF) for students seeking funding to present at or attend conferences, and the Emergency Support Fund (ESF) for emergency situations
- Mediating member grievances
- Attending and helping organize coalition efforts within the community
- Developing communications content for the website, social media, and e-newsletters
- Preparing to negotiate the next contract (2027-2030) with UMB’s administration to address labor concerns affecting graduate employees.
Spring 2026 Election Process
I. Nominations: The nomination period starts on Monday, March 2
Your nomination should include:
- Your completed nomination form (attached here),
- Evidence that you are an active dues-paying member (your most recent paystub, accessed through HR Direct) or a signed dues authorization form (attached here),
- Complete all sections of the nomination form. We strongly recommend including the headshot photograph you will use for campaigning and the official GEO nominee package – a PDF document we prepare and distribute with our membership.
- Nominations must be emailed to geo@umb.edu on or before the end of the day Friday, March 6, 11:59 p.m. EST
II. Campaigning: The campaigning period starts on Tuesday, March 10, and lasts until voting closes on Friday, March 20, 11:59 p.m. EST. During this time, nominees are expected to do in-person and online outreach among other graduate students and share their campaigning platforms.
To campaign, nominees should talk to graduate classmates/friends about:
- the importance of being active in your graduate student union,
- what your target topics of action while in the committee would be -if elected,
- and why they should vote for you to be part of the GEO Organizing Committee.
- use social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, X, Instagram, and email to spread the word!
- join our All Members Meeting on March 11 at either 12:30 p.m. (in-person) or 7:30 p.m. (ZOOM) to talk to attendees.
We will announce all nominees (name, picture, bio, program, and platform) via email, our website, and on our social media platforms. However, the GEO Organizing Committee cannot campaign for or endorse any candidates, nor grant any advantage to one candidate.
III. Voting: Voting will be open for two days from Thursday, March 19, at 8:00 a.m, to Friday, March 20, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Votes will be collected using online ballots distributed to our members early on the first voting day (Thursday, March 19). One GEO committee member will be online at geo@umb.edu in case of any technical difficulties.
In the event that the number of eligible candidates does not exceed 1, such a candidate will be deemed elected by acclamation, and no election will be held. Please note that only dues-paying GEO members are eligible to vote in this election. Non dues-paying members can still sign up on March 19 and 20 and vote in this election. Results will be released to nominees by email that weekend, and to all members on Monday, March 23 (via email and our social media platforms).
See more information on election nominations and registration to vote, here.
For general inquiries, you can reach us at geo@umb.edu.
In Solidarity,
The GEO Organizing Committee
Graduate Employee Organization 