HOW CAN UNDERGRADS SUPPORT THEIR TA AND GA EFFORTS

As we near our strike, our undergraduate students ask us: How can we help?

The most direct way is to tell the university administration that the work of their TAs and GAs is really important to them, and that they support the efforts of GEO to reach agreement on livable working conditions. Below is a sample email, which we encourage all undergraduate students to send to the Chancellor of UIC, Michael Amridis, who holds the highest position in the UIC administration. Clicking this link here will initiate your default email client to compose an email with the same text.

Dear Chancellor Amridis,

I am writing to ask you to settle the contract with the UIC TA and GA union as soon as possible. Their work is invaluable to me as an undergraduate at UIC, and I am surprised and upset that they have been negotiating with you for more than a year, and you refuse to provide them proper living and working conditions. You still have not offered them a living wage or adequate healthcare, you are making them pay thousands in fees to work at the university, and you refuse to provide them clear policies about who gets jobs each semester so they can be free from fear of retaliation. They are the reason why your university works so well – you should treat them better.

If they go on strike, I will only have you to blame for restricting my access to an education.

Feel free to forward this post to undergrads in your classes! The more voices are heard, the higher the chance of a positive outcome.