GEO Files for RA Unionization Election

November 17th, 2023

We’re excited to announce that we have officially filed our RA unionization interest petition with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board–Research Assistants at UIC are one step closer to having a union! Folks across both campuses have been busy this semester talking with RAs and collecting petition signatures, and hard work pays off! Thank you to all of our members, supporters, and allies who came out to our rally yesterday. It was wonderful to celebrate meeting our signature goal with all of you!

This is a huge step towards unionization, but it’s only the first step. This petition will trigger an election where RAs will vote on whether or not to actually join GEO. We’ll need your help spreading the word to make sure RAs go vote. As long as the majority of voters say “yes,” Research Assistants will be unionized and contract bargaining for RAs can begin.


With our collective power, we can win Research Assistants a voice in their workplace and improve wages and working conditions for all graduate workers. Solidarity forever!