Winning strong contracts and advocating for the rights and needs of members between bargaining years takes work from all grad workers, and your participation is crucial for all campaigns and efforts. In addition to participating in mass actions and recruiting coworkers you know to participate in these actions, you can become a department steward or join a committee/caucus.

Below, you can see the type of work each committee undertakes. To take action, fill and another grad student will be in touch with you to help you find the most suitable way you can take action!


General Membership Meetings (GMMs)

There will be at least two General Membership Meetings (GMMs) during the fall and winter semesters. All grad workers should attend GMMs regularly; a union of workers will only have power if the decisions are made collectively.

Department Meetings

Departmental stewards and active members hold regular department meetings to have a frank discussion about the working conditions in their departments and share information about the rights and benefits we enjoy. To find out when your next department meeting is, contact your steward. Don’t know who that is? Email us at headstew@geo3550.org

Organizing Assembly / Steward’s Council

Stewards are the first point of contact between graduate workers and the union. They represent the interests of their department within GEO and they keep their department updated and informed on GEO activities and events. Ideally, there is one steward per fifteen grad workers in a department. Stewards can represent a whole department or multiple stewards can represent their own subfields or cohorts, depending on the department culture. You can reach out to your steward for any questions or concerns regarding your employment or graduate student experience. Consider becoming one! Email umgeo@geo3550.org for more information.

Leadership Positions

At the end of each academic year, the GEO membership elects Constitutional Officers and the Stewards’ Council elects Committee and Caucus Chairs. The four constitutional officers are President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. The current elected officers are listed on our Contact page. If you’re interested in running for a leadership position in GEO, please reach out to secretary@geo3550.org for more information on the nomination and election procedures. You may also read through our Constitution & Bylaws.