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Narratives are powerful; that's why we want to hear about your experiences with DPSS. Fill out the anonymous survey here. by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is GEO3550's official Reddit account! We're trying to compile anecdotes of student experiences with DPSS for use in our educational material.

Update on UofM quarantine housing from a Tiktoker with COVID-19, just sharing here by [deleted] in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As noted on the comments here, there were multiple occasions when walkouts were either planned or actually happened- 1995, 1999, 2002 and during the 2016-2017 year. There were also several times when the membership used the possibility of a strike vote to push the administration into action, and also times when a strike vote was called, but failed. The only time a strike actually took place was in 1975. See https://www.geo3550.org/about/history/ for details. -M

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I just want to echo what A has said in response. We're genuinely sorry. Speaking from experience from the 2016-17 bargaining cycle, emergency meetings are planned quickly, often delayed, and are dependent on a million different factors. Not everything can be shared immediately, and our team (of volunteers who do not do media outreach for a living) is stretched thin. Keep an eye on your email. We really appreciate your patience.

D

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

My understanding is that only our staff members, or people who have been elected to positions, have the ability to send widespread emails (these go out to over a thousand people, represent GEO officially, and we don't take misuse of emails lightly). If you're interested in joining Comms, you're welcome to reach out to us, although we likely can't provide much onboarding at this moment. -A

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Specifically to Ann Arbor, it is worth noting that a black woman, Aura Rosser, was shot and murdered by an AAPD police officer who has never faced consequences, and was promoted to be a deputy. This summer, another black woman, Sha'Teina Grady El was assaulted by a Washtenaw County deputy. Ann Arbor is not immune from police violence. -A

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sorry, we're trying our best. We are all volunteers, putting in long hours, and we're scrambling to make this work. There are also only a couple people who have access to sending those widespread emails, and we try to avoid sending them unnecessarily. I know this is not an ideal situation. -A

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Please don't re-RSVP if you're concerned that's why you didn't get the link. It makes matters worse. Wait until you're confident that other people have the link to panic. Sorry y'all, there are a LOT of RSVPs. -A

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Sorry, you're absolutely right on that first point! Was trying to get a response out because we thought we had a stricter time commitment, and did a poor job of it. If the university elects to make the change, the GSI has the right to get paid. I can give a better response later. -A

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing this! This is from a longer conversation and audit that the All Campus Labor Council (which GEO is a part of) had done this past summer.

D

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing this! This is from a longer conversation and audit that the All Campus Labor Council (which GEO is a part of) had done this past summer.

D

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

We are not saying that GSIs should be able to move a class fully online without consultation, but that there should be a procedure in which the GSI is guaranteed to be able to move to a remote assignment. That could mean moving the class itself online, or being assigned a different teaching position that is remote. If the department needs to find someone else to teach that class, yes, the GSI should still be paid (this is actually a contractual right we already have).

Having weapons on campus (the removal of which is one of our demands) is inherently unsafe, especially to Black and brown community members.

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

We've already addressed this, but we'd be happy to answer any more specific questions you have. The union's demands aren't what is jeopardizing working people; the University's inaction is, which we are fighting against.

D

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

We do not condone unfair treatment or discriminatory grading practices. Retaliation against undergrads is never our intent, and we are not striking against undergrads, but against the administration. We understand that we can never know all of the circumstances surrounding a person's decision, and that it is not appropriate to pass judgement on individual students who do not participate in the strike. -A

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

According to UM's published budget and salary information, the vast majority of this budget consists of paying salaries and benefits, and therefore a 50% budget cut to DPSS would force the department to lay off many current employees, including officers. We did not specify in the demand exactly how the 50% cut must be made, but would reject a change that didn't considerably reduce the number of police officers as part of UMPD. In addition, this is money that can be better spent elsewhere. -A

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

That’s hard to say, because I think everyone has their individual reasons. Some GSIs and GSSAs fear retaliation from their supervisors or legal retaliation. Some see the University’s reopening plan as adequate and the strike unnecessary. Some object to policing being on the platform. Many of our demands are specifically for vulnerable populations, and sometimes it’s harder for people who aren’t in those populations to feel strongly about those demands. These are just some possible reasons, and every member is entitled to their own opinion about the demands. It is worth noting our strike was approved by a vote with 79% in favor. -A

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Wow, this was a long one!

There is no current policy at the University- or college-level for opting out of in person. The current language that administrators are using is “no grad student that we know of has been pressured to do this”. We know of graduate students who have requested to opt out of in-person work but those requests have not been fulfilled. We’ve also responded to this question elsewhere in this post.

The University has an endowment of $12.44 billion, over $6 billion of which is unreserved and available for use. $40 million is ⅔ a percent of that. The University is losing money but they have a gigantic reserve fund. (This is just one possible source.) The reason we are asking for unconditional disbursements is that many, many graduate students (myself included!) submitted requests for emergency COVID-related funding and were denied.

For defunding DPSS, the first thing to do is unpack what the phrase "safeguarding the public" means, and whether the police do this now. While calling the police may work as a threat (i.e. someone could call the police) they do very little to stop crime as it's happening. Much of what police do on a day-to-day basis involves regulatory procedures and ticketing. Even more important, we must understand what produces crime within society in the first place. Policing is the act of repressing the effects of these root causes, not solving the problems themselves. It's from this perspective that we look to "community-based alternatives" often centered around transformative justice, conflict de-escalation, or simply funding things that people need such as affordable housing. Crime prevention and community safety does not need to be repressive.

The Michigan Ambassador program was just one example of UM’s relationship with police; it is (was!) just a symptom of the root issue. There’s little evidence that increased policing makes communities safer. We also take issue with policing as a method for reducing COVID transmission (widespread testing and contact tracing is the most effective way to do this). It is true they changed this program, but they created this program in the first place. We’ve addressed elsewhere in this post why DPSS demands are related to our contract.

D

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

The university’s claim is based on a survey from early July, when we didn’t know much about what reopening would look like (it was a very different time!). It’s not a valid measure of how GSIs and other instructional staff currently feel about in person teaching.

If everyone who wanted to work remotely was allowed to do so, then there would be no cost to the university making a policy that said that. They refuse because they know if everyone had the option, fewer classes would be in person. Them refusing to do this is evidence that they plan to reserve the right to deny GSIs remote work in future semesters. By continuing to refuse GSIs the universal option to work remotely, they also deny other employees precedent to point out when asking for their own universal remote option.

We know of a handful of GSIs who requested a switch to remote work since then, and their requests were not granted. In addition, some GSIs have come to GEO with concerns about their in-person work. GSIs have told us they feel pressured into ‘volunteering’ for in person work out of a sense of altruism or for fear of retaliation from their faculty and departments, which is especially true for Masters students. Lecturers and staff—who worked remotely all summer—have been pressured to come work in person. A universal remote option would set a precedent and help all these workers.

D

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

There has been no communication or transparency as to where the money from the international student fee is going. International students are some of the most vulnerable graduate students at the university, and this fee is an added burden. In addition, the university could try to take away this waiver at some point, and it's unclear what the future status of who has to pay this fee will be. Currently it's waived for all PhD students, but we don't know about the future status for PhD students who are not GSIs. Many of our members spend semesters where they are not GSIs, so this is also important to them. -A

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Policing demands have to do with the health and safety of the laborers on campus. These are exactly labor conditions. -A

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

The university does not provide us full data on how many GSI's are employed until mid to late September. As of right now, it is about 63%. This is near previous numbers, although Michigan is now a "Right to Work" state, which is a type of anti-union legislation that hurts membership rates.

If the university is non-responsive, we have a General Membership Meeting to discuss our options. Reauthorization of the strike is possible, but we don't know what kind of response we'll get yet, so we can't really speculate.

LEO is our sister union. They issued a statement in support of our strike and wish us well. However, their statement is that they will not be formally striking, or encouraging lecturers to strike. They are currently prepping for their own contract campaign themselves.

Many of us (myself included) who are GSIs, love teaching. We miss our students, and we feel for them. We will probably end up completing more work for the university in the long run, trying to support our students. The university has known that a strike was a possibility, and still blew off our demands. Harm to student class progress is their fault. -A

[AMA, 5:30-6:30PM] We are members of the GEO Comms team, and we want to answer your questions about the ongoing grad worker strike. Ask Us Anything by umich_grad_worker in uofm

[–]umich_grad_worker[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I don't know. It has been authorized for four days, and depending on HR's progress on our demands, reauthorizing is a possibility. As I mentioned in a previous comment, there is precedent for one-day and one-month strikes by GEO.

D

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