This is a developing story and has been updated as of Friday morning at 11:35 a.m.
The Graduate Employees’ Organization officially voted to strike against the University of Michigan Thursday night after failing to settle on a new contract after five months of negotiations. 95% of members voted in favor of the work stoppage. This means that GEO leadership can now call a strike at any time. If a strike begins, several Graduate Student Instructors will not be teaching their sections until further notice.
On Monday, March 20, GEO members voted yes to authorize the strike process. In a press release shared with The Michigan Daily, GEO wrote that they hope the strike will improve the current state of negotiations and encourage the University to consider their demands.
“After four months of being stonewalled at the bargaining table by the University of Michigan, Members of (GEO) sent a clear message to the administration: we are serious about winning a living wage, affordability, and dignity for all grad workers,” the statement said.
In the statement, GEO Vice President Ember McCoy said GEO members understand the gravity of the step they are taking, and affirmed that GSIs are prepared to take it.
“This is not a step that grad workers take lightly, but the University has for months totally failed to adequately address the serious problems grads are facing,” McCoy said. “Our members are fed up and ready to fight.”
In a letter sent to the campus community Friday morning, University President Santa Ono and Provost Laurie McCauley addressed the strike authorization by GEO. If a strike happens, Ono and McCauley said the University will continue to function and will respect the rights of groups to peacefully protest.
“If the union chooses to strike, the University will continue to hold classes as scheduled,” Ono and McCauley wrote. “Our school, college, and department leaders are planning for substitute instructors, alternative assignments, and other means for delivering instruction if it is required. There would likely be visible activism on the campus and we respect the right of any group to peacefully advocate for their positions.”
The strike comes after months of activism by GEO, including protesting during University President Santa Ono’s inauguration, filing unfair labor practice charges against the University, marching to the Feb. 16 regents meeting to support Payment for Placements for Masters of Social Work students and holding a work-in at Haven Hall as a part of their Graduate Labor Visibility Week. GEO also held a strike in 2020 in reaction to the University announcing that they would re-open in the fall 2020 semester amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
During their negotiations, GEO has repeatedly asked the University to increase their salaries to $38,537 per year, claiming that their current wage is not sufficient to live in Ann Arbor based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator. GEO also asked the University for improvements to their current health care plan and for the University to implement an unarmed, community response team.
Though they will respect the organization’s right to protest, Ono and McCauley wrote in their letter to the U-M community that they are prepared to take legal action if necessary.
“The University will take appropriate lawful actions to enable the continued delivery of our educational mission in the event of a work disruption,” Ono and McCauley 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.”
Daily News Editor Riley Hodder can be reached at rehodder@umich.edu. Daily Staff Reporter Miles Anderson can be reached at milesand@umich.edu.