Graduate Employee's Organization (GEO)
Although graduate employees - teaching and research assistants - on many university campuses largely keep the day-to-day excellence of their institution humming along, they are often unaware of the value of their labor or not given a chance to advocate for it. Since 2018 I have been involved with the graduate labor union at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the GEO, first serving on its Financial Committee then being voted in as a Co-Treasurer. In the latter role I worked with another officer to ensure daily operations of the union, propose a budget, keep the lights on and keep track of members' dues. As an elected officer I also participated in charting the future of the union and organizing events for all of our members by being a pat of the Coordinating Committee.
Read about my experiences during the 2018 GEO strike here.