A few thousand graduate students, undergraduates, lecturers and Ann Arbor community members rallied on the Diag at the University of Michigan Wednesday in support of the Graduate Employees’ Organization’s decision to strike following months of unsuccessful contract negotiations with the University’s Academic Human Resources Department.
The walk-out started at 10:24 a.m. to call attention to the fact that GEO is “walking away” from their current salary, which is just over $24,000. It was intended to mark the official start of GEO’s strike, which will continue until further notice.
The strike comes after months of activism by GEO, including filing an unfair labor practice charge, rallying at the February and March Board of Regents meetings, protesting University President Santa Ono’s inaugural procession and holding work-in at Haven Hall.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily before the strike rally began, Rackham student Amir Fleischmann, chair of the GEO Contracts Committee, said graduate students want the University to bargain in good faith with GEO to address the issues graduate students are facing.
“I think we’re at a point in negotiations where things really aren’t moving quickly enough,” Fleischmann said. “Grad workers are very frustrated. They’re struggling to pay rent. They’re struggling to afford childcare. They lack access to gender-affirming care. And I think we’re saying enough is enough. The University needs to give us a fair contract now.”
At the start of the rally, GEO President Jared Eno spoke to the crowd and emphasized that the organization is on strike to fight for a better future for graduate students and the entire campus community.
“We are here right now because we know that a better world is possible,” Eno said. “We know that if we fight and we fight together, we will win.”
Following the opening speeches from GEO leaders, demonstrators marched across campus, starting at the Diag and ending at the Alexander G. Ruthven Building, where U-M administration offices are located.
In an email to the campus community on March 24, Ono and University Provost Laurie McCauley wrote that the University may take legal action against GEO because they alleged that the work stoppage constitutes a breach of contract.
“The University will take appropriate lawful actions to enable the continued delivery of our educational mission in the event of a work disruption,” McCauley and Ono wrote. “Those actions will include asking a court to find a breach of contract and order strikers back to work, stopping the deduction of union dues, filing unfair labor practice charges, and not paying striking GSIs and GSSAs for time they do not work.”
In a press conference at the end of the rally, Eno said the University has yet to take any legal action against the union.
“The University has sent (GEO) multiple threatening letters,” Eno said. “We are not afraid of the University that would take us to court rather than pay us a living wage.”
In an interview with The Daily, University spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald confirmed that no legal action has been taken yet.
“There are some legal steps that we can take and I know the (legal) team’s carefully considering those right now,” Fitzgerald said. “(No legal action has been taken) that I’m aware of. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t taken place.”
LSA senior Kayla Tate, speaker for the Black Student Union, attended the rally and told The Daily she wanted to be there to support graduate students.
“We know this University is not a victim,” Tate said. “Rather, it is an active perpetrator of systemic injustice.”
Daily Staff Reporters Matthew Shanbom and Miles Anderson can be reached at shanbom@umich.edu and milesand@umich.edu.