We have bargaining tomorrow at 12.30 PM in ICC 651, and we need to see you there!

Last Wednesday at our Member Meeting, Jewel Tomasula (Biology) and Gerald Taylor (Philosophy) from our Bargaining Committee underscored how important it is for us and hundreds of graduate workers at Georgetown like us to show up to bargaining sessions with the administration. They announced that, in the coming weeks, we will start bargaining over “bottom-line issues” that we prioritized in our Bargaining Survey--stipends and hourly wages, dental and vision coverage, health insurance, childcare, transportation, and paid family and medical leave.

Jewel and Gerald reported that, since contract negotiations started on March 8, 2019 (that’s almost one year ago!), we have reached tentative agreements with administration on fourteen proposals, including protections for international students, compensation for graduate workers when paid positions are canceled, and workplace grievances and arbitration procedures. Jewel and Gerald emphasized that we had arrived at this point in large part because graduate workers have shown up to bargaining and shared their stories with the administration.

That’s why we need you to show up tomorrow at bargaining: to show the administration that we’re #ReadyToTHRIVE and we want the dignified wages and benefits we have earned through our labor as teachers and researchers.

Bargaining can be an eye-opening and empowering experience, as Jeremy Canfield from our Organizing Committee (OC) observed before the winter break. By attending a bargaining session, you can learn more about the graduate experience at Georgetown and show your support for your friends and colleagues at the table. More importantly, you can remind the administration that you and hundreds of graduate employees like you will do what it takes to win a contract.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be contacting you about different ways that you can help win a contract that reflects our interests and values our contributions as graduate workers. But, for the moment, you should plan to show up to bargaining (if not this week, then next week!) and remind the administration that we’re watching.

In solidarity,

GAGE Organizing Committee