We’ve returned to the bargaining table to protect the health, safety, and job security of graduate workers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to my duties as vice president of our union, I am serving alongside Jewel Tomasula, Brent McDonnell, Ari Janoff, and Jeffrey Tsoi on the team that the Executive Council has organized to bargain with the administration over its fall reopening plans. I’m writing to share updates from the two bargaining sessions that graduate workers have used to share our concerns about the administration’s plans and present proposals to protect our community at Georgetown this fall.
During our bargaining sessions, we presented proposals that address a range of concerns you’ve shared with us. These include proposals to guarantee:
Pay and health insurance for graduate workers whose concerns about on-campus work the administration is unable to accommodate;
Public health protections for workers teaching or conducting research on campus;
Remote teaching and research work for international student workers;
Emergency medical leave for student workers who test positive for COVID-19; and
The availability of hourly positions.
We’ve crafted our proposals to ensure protections under any context of our work during the COVID-19 pandemic. This week confirmed the need to be prepared for an array of different scenarios, as the Georgetown administration suddenly changed their reopening plans to hold classes virtually for the first month of the semester. However, the administration has indicated that it intends to organize hybrid classes as soon as possible, possibly even mid-semester.
To hold the administration to these proposals, we need to show them the same collective power that got us to the table this week. That’s why we will be organizing a series of actions over the coming weeks that demonstrate to the administration why these protections are essential to our work as teachers and researchers at Georgetown.
Our strength as a union comes from our membership. Organizing got us to this stage, and organizing will ensure that we win. Organizing works.
In solidarity,
Daniel Solomon, on behalf of the GAGE Bargaining Committee