GEO UAW 2322 at UMass Amherst Releases Statement of Support
UMass-Amherst graduate employees stand in firm solidarity with GSOC-UAW Local 2110, the graduate employees of New York University! After 10 months of bargaining, 96% (1336/1386) of GSOC membership voted Yes to go on Strike. We are very inspired by the determination graduate workers have at NYU. You all deserve a better contract! The strike demonstrates the strength of the union when standing in opposition of the university administration. The stalling tactics of the university sounds too familiar for us at UMass Amherst and it is despicable. The demands of wage adjustment, affordable healthcare, police free campus, a just contract, paid vacation, childcare subsidy, housing assistance and a concrete plan to improve overall working conditions are not too much. What you are asking is the decency workers deserve. You are a model for all GEO unions across the nation.
With the administration of UMass Amherst, once again, ruthlessly making unilateral decisions to return “normal” next semester, we are paying extra attention to the needs of our graduate workers. From reslife workers, international graduate workers, graduate student parent workers and workers withhold all kinds of social identities, we cannot afford to lose the negotiating power we have as a union. As we are planning to go back to successor bargaining, we look up to other unions who are leading the movement. Let’s lift our spirit high and keep the momentum going forward, we graduate workers deserve what we are asking for! If the administration of UMass Amherst truly meant what they said about dignity and respect, let’s pressure them to materialize those promises!
Thank you graduate workers at NYU!
Yours in Solidarity,
GEO-UAW 2322 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
04/26/2021