Today was GEO’s first bargaining session after the March 1st contract deadline, and it is clear that GEO member organizing is working. The bargaining team had productive conversations with university administration about trans health resulting in some potentially encouraging directions, as well as some additional productive conversations about childcare proposals.
The bargaining team also received some important gains from U-M to improve clarification on grievance procedures, including those for sexual misconduct. However, U-M offered disappointing responses on some aspects of these proposals, including on the timeline for filing grievances related to sexual harassment and misconduct. The team made extremely clear at the bargaining table graduate workers’ lack of trust in the university in light of recent headlines about U-M’s appalling cover-ups of longstanding sexual misconduct. GEO is fighting for significant and immediate changes to U-M’s unacceptable sexual misconduct protection procedures, and there is still a long way to go before we reach the substantive changes that graduate workers deserve.
U-M also rejected GEO’s proposal for increased training around important issues that affect the employment conditions of graduate workers, part of a pattern of consistently ignoring these proposals.
Today’s gains make it clear that U-M is feeling the pressure from GEO members after we lined the halls at bargaining and made our power clear at the grade-in. However, it’s equally clear that we have a long way to go, and now that we are past the March 1st deadline, it’s time to double down on our pressure for the contract we deserve.
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