May GMM and Other Updates

NEW INFORMATION

Notes from the GMM

*New* Union Card Pledge

GSU is excited to launch a card campaign to gain legal recognition by the end of the 2022-2023 academic year! Gaining legal recognition will require the university to bargain with GSU, allowing us to negotiate a contract for increased pay, improved benefits, and protections for graduate workers including grievance procedures. 

The first step to gaining legal recognition is a card campaign. Signing a union card means you want GSU to be your union, and that you authorize the union to represent you in the collective bargaining. If 30% of workers sign these cards, we may ask the National Labor Relations Board to hold a secret ballot election to determine whether GSU can become the legally recognized union for graduate student workers. If over 50% sign cards, we can ask the university to voluntarily recognize the union.

Even if you previously signed a membership card, please fill out this new card pledge form. This will help us begin tallying where our support is as we prepare to formally launch in the coming academic year.

GSU Slack

GSU now has a slack server! This can be used to coordinate departmental organizing, university-wide organizing, and union committee work. The server is open to all members and organizers, here’s the link to join!

Solidarity Forever!

IU Bloomington Grad Workers On Strike: Ongoing, but Suspended Until Fall Semester! 

Following a successful card campaign by graduate workers at Indiana University Bloomington – in which over 60% of graduate students signed union cards – IU refused to enter talks with the union. IU Bloomington grad workers proceeded to strike for four weeks, and they voted to suspend their strike until September 26th (when their fall semester starts). Continue to show your support by donating to their strike fund and showing your solidarity on social media!

REMINDERS

Student Services Fee: Spring Quarter Organizing

While organizing around the Student Services Fee has been winding down this quarter, we’d like to remind you that it’s more important now than ever that we stay in touch. We know that many graduate workers still have outstanding debt from participating in this action in order to force the administration to eliminate the SSF going forward, and that some are planning on graduating this spring and summer. 

If you have outstanding debt and are planning on graduating this quarter, please contact your Departmental Organizer or email graduatestudentsunited@gmail.com as soon as possible; we know that individuals have been able to graduate without paying off fees in the past, and we’d love to support you in doing so! 

Meanwhile, if you are seeking a way to pay down debt, GSU’s Hardship Fund is up and running. If you are a graduate worker, you can apply here to receive funds to help pay off outstanding Student Services Fees. And if you have a few dollars to spare, consider donating to the GSU Hardship Fund to help support our coworkers who put their finances on the line to get the fee canceled for everyone! 

If you are graduating soon and are still carrying SSF debts, please reach out to Ella Wilhelm. In addition, please also fill out this form: this is just a means for us to collect some info and put people in touch who are all in the same situation – no one should be facing this alone.

Support our Organizing–Sign Up for Optional Monthly Dues!

We’re excited to announce that GSU is officially now able to collect optional monthly dues from members! With just a fraction of your salary–far less than the annual cost of the Student Services Fee that we have just won coverage of–our union can create a stable and sustainable income that can be budgeted to pay for needs like meeting space, supplies, and organizing support. We are setting the initial goal of collecting enough to hire a part- or full-time staffer to help support the expansion of our organizing efforts. You can sign up now to start contributing any amount, and you can change the amount you contribute or stop at any time. 

Support the Mutual Aid Fund

The mutual aid committee provides support and meals for grad parents, which is made possible by their mutual aid fund. You can support their work by donating to their fund.

Get Involved with GSU this QuarterGSU 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. Steering Committee – Alternating Wednesdays at 5pm and Fridays at 2pmMutual Aid Committee – Tuesdays at 10amCommunications Committee – Tuesdays at 11amAnti-Racism Working Group – TBDDepartment Organizer Training – weekly by appointment (contact us!)Organizing Committee – Wednesdays at 4pmWorker Action Committee – Meeting on an as-needed basis