SSF Strategy Town Hall TONIGHT!

Student Services Fee Strategy Town Hall Tonight! 

Following up on our major victory in our Student Services Fee campaign, we are relying on the input of every GSU member to assess our organizing plans and determine our strategy for the remainder of the winter quarter. Please plan on attending an SSF Strategy Town Hall TONIGHT, February 10 at 6pm, to weigh in on our next moves. Your voice is essential! Any changes that need to be made to our campaign after input at the Town Hall will be voted on at the February 23 General Members Meeting. Please register here to attend the Town Hall and receive the Zoom link. See you there! 

February Mutual Aid Meals

The Mutual Aid Committee is back in Winter Quarter with another round of community meals, Valentine’s edition! We’re pleased to offer free meals to grad student parents and caregivers, as well as anybody experiencing food insecurity. If you’re in need of a meal next week, please sign up — and share with your networks!

If you would like free meals delivered for your household on February 14 or 15, please fill out our meal request form here by TOMORROW, February 11. This month the menu is sweet potato and black bean enchiladas, with cumin lime coleslaw on the side and cinnamon sugar cookies for dessert. All meals are vegetarian; vegan and gluten-free options are available on request.

Please consider donating to our mutual aid food justice fund via PayPal here. Thank you for helping us create a community that steps up and supports each other—we are so grateful.

General Members Meeting February 23

Mark your calendars for the next General Members Meeting, to be held via Zoom on Wednesday, February 23, at 6pm! You can register here to receive Zoom info. Keep an eye out for the agenda within the coming weeks, and if you have any agenda items to submit, contact graduatestudentsunited@gmail.com. 

Care and Accountability Committee Seeks New Member

The Care and Accountability Committee (CAC) is seeking a new member to take up a position on the committee for the next two to three quarters. CAC was formed to address conflicts that often arise in principled organizing work in a way that promotes healing, understanding, and accountability in our union and minimizes harm. We provide spaces for informal personal check-ins, confidential conversations and mediated meetings, and we aim to work collaboratively to address systemic issues within the union. As a new member, you can help us do this important work, build our capacity as a committee, and envision new ways forward. You can check out this one-pager describing CAC in a little more detail. If you’d like to learn more, email us at care.gsu@gmail.com. You can anonymously nominate yourself or a colleague for this position here. 

Hardship Fund

Our Hardship Fund is more important now than ever as we assess how best to move forward in addressing the outstanding debts that GSU members owe due to their participation in the SSF Refusal Campaign. Donations to this fund will help support and protect members as we continue to face possible retaliation from administrators. 

We are now accepting donations! If you have some money to spare to help your fellow union members, we would deeply appreciate your contribution. Otherwise, be sure to share the link to the fund on social media and distribute to your networks. Any remaining funds not distributed as part of our SSF Refusal Campaign will be used to provide emergency aid to graduate workers experiencing financial hardship.

Get Involved with GSU this Quarter

GSU has a number of ways to get involved, from organizing to committee work! All meetings are open to all members. Below you can find the new Winter Quarter meetings and times for our regular committee meetings, but also feel free to get in touch with one of your department’s organizers or email graduatestudentsunited@gmail.com if you are interested in work at the departmental or divisional level. To receive Zoom links and updates for the meetings below, email us to join the Departmental Organizer listserv. 

Mutual Aid Committee – Mondays at 12pm

Steering Committee – Mondays at 5pm

Communications Committee – Wednesdays at 2pm

Anti-Racism Working Group – Wednesdays at 4pm

Department Organizer Training – Biweekly Wednesdays at 5pm (register here!)

Organizing Committee – Thursdays at 12pm

Worker Action Committee – Meeting on an as-needed basis