A Message on Healthcare from GSU Member Trish Kahle

My name is Trish Kahle, and I’m a graduate employee in the Social Sciences Division at the University of Chicago.

I’m voting yes for our union because grad workers and their families need access to affordable, high quality health care.

The university administration’s approach to providing health insurance denies us a voice in determining the coverage we need. The result is a system with high deductibles and unaffordable costs, including for reproductive health services and treatment of chronic conditions; long waiting times for referrals and specialist care; and partner and dependent care that is financially out of reach for most graduate workers.

This system also fails to provide affordable dental and vision care in the standard package. Faced with thousands in additional expenses, many of us choose instead to compromise our dental and ophthalmological health.

As the backbone of the University, graduate workers at UChicago deserve affordable health care for themselves and their families. And with $7 billion in financial reserves, the University administration has the resources to meet our demands. A union will provide us the collective power to make sure our voice is heard.

Join me in VOTING YES on October 17-18. Together we can improve graduate health care at the University of Chicago.

Trish Kahle

PS – Have questions, or want to share your grad healthcare story from UChicago? Send us a message or check out this page for more opportunities to get involved!