The Lecturers’ Employee Organization (AFT Michigan
#6244
, AFL-CIO) is the union of non-tenure track faculty on all 3 campuses of the University of Michigan.
HUGE:
@UMich
librarians, archivists, and curators have officially won union recognition, and will be a new bargaining unit within LEO! We're excited to grow our union and continue building solidarity across the university. Congrats LEO-GLAM!
Statement:
In an email to
@umichLSA
leadership, Dean Curzan hints that
@LEOUnionUmich
Lecs will be expected to bear the brunt of extra work as
@geo3550
workers withhold their labor.
Beyond just their own needs, GEO's strike highlights
@UMich
's continually unfair demands of its workers.
We are so proud to announce that earlier this evening, after 7 months, the
#LEOGLAM
Bargaining Team has reached a full Tentative Agreement! Huge thanks to the bargaining team, our staff, all of our members, & our allies. Couldn't have done it without you! ✊⚡🦁
#UnionStrong
🚨UPDATE🚨Thanks to the commitment of lecturers & allies to act in
#solidarity
, admin is starting to move in the right direction. Union leaders will postpone our job action on April 9/10 & continue bargaining for a fair contract. Our fight is NOT OVER. Let’s keep pressure up.
🚨BREAKING - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE🚨
As of tonight, UM Lecturers on the Flint, Dearborn, and Ann Arbor campuses have voted unanimously to proceed with strike action on April 9th and 10th, unless there is substantial progress in bargaining.
#respectthelecs
LECTURERS: join the LEO picket shift TOMORROW, 8-11am. Come to the diag for more info. Let’s show our solidarity & support for
@geo3550
’s
#StrikeForSafeCampus
✊✊and our unity against admin’s anti-labor moves 👎👎
WE DID IT, Y'ALL!! The
#LEOGLAM
contract was ratified with an overwhelming 98.4% YES from the voting membership! Endless thanks to all the LACs, Lecs, LEO staff, and allies who fought for this historic victory ⚡🦁✊
#HotLaborSummer
#UnionStrong
#WhenWeOrganizeWeWin
Are your children texting about unions?
LOL = Love Organizing Labor
IKR = Intersectionality is our Key Responsibility
ILU = I Love Unions
LMAO = Live Marxism As Orthodoxy
IMHO = I Must Help Organize
BAE = Believe in Absolute Equity
IDFC = I Dream of a Fair Contract
LEO President Kirsten Herold on
@geo3550
Bargaining last Friday: "As a chief negotiator for several LEO contracts, I am baffled by the U’s refusal to include Rackham’s plan for grad summer pay in the GEO contract.” [1/2]
Today,
@geo3550
announced it will strike after weeks of failed negotiations with
@UMich
Admin for a safe and just campus. We stand with GEO and all of the graduate student workers concerned for their lives and livelihoods.
Our full statement:
🚨FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - University of Michigan Lecturers have ratified a new contract🚨
98% of voting members voted to ratify our new contract. We have a contract that
#respectsthelecs
. We couldn't have done it without every single ally+ member.
#feels
All Campus Labor Council members released the following statement in support of
@geo3550
condemned the University of Michigan's decision to sue grad workers to break the strike.
There is so much in this thread of Pres. Schlissel's exit package that is turning our stomachs, but one of the most biting is *this*:
"provided with suitable office space" when so many Lecturers have to share office spaces & some didn't even have adequate access to computers!!!
U-M and Mark Schlissel signed an agreement on Sept. 23, detailing his departure as president. Worth noting they signed on the day of a public meeting and made no mention of it at the meeting. It was all done behind closed doors, with no notice to the public.
@freep
The LEO Union Council has voted to send out a strike authorization vote with the strong recommendation that all lecturer members vote YES. Lecturer members: check your email ASAP for a ballot and vote by 5pm on 4/23!
#FairShareNow
We are so proud of our union siblings
@geo3550
on this historic strike. You have inspired this campus and the world beyond. Congrats on the agreement! LEO is excited to continue to work alongside you for a safe and just campus.
#StrikeForSafeCampus
Lecturers: may your morning coffee ☕️ fuel a day of union action. *Solidarity*: join LEO on the
@geo3550
picket lines 8-11am.
#StrikeForSafeCampus
. Meet at the diag. *Governance*: attend the Faculty Senate meeting 3-4pm!
🚨✊BREAKING🚨✊
We have over 1,000 individuals signed up for picket shifts on all 3 campuses. We have 2K picket shifts staffed between Monday and Tuesday. We have not confirmed that we will walk out. If we do, we know that this university stands with Lecturers.
#respectthelecs
⚡ LEO-GLAM is back at the bargaining table today! ⚡ Meredith Kahn is a librarian on the Ann Arbor campus and a member of the Bargaining Team, among many other roles. We would not be here without their tireless efforts!
It's just the beginning of the union-busting we can expect from UM Admin! Don't fall for it! Stay strong and support
@geo3550
in the fight for a fair contract.
Sign the pledge not to pick up GSI work:
Sign up for GEO picket shifts:
Second shift of info picketing is looking good! A nice reminder that LEO has launched a strike authorization vote and are demanding a
#FairContractNow
with bigger increase for lecturers at Dearborn and Flint! UM has the wealth to support lecs on ALL 3 CAMPUSES!!
Some of the friends from today’s rainy
@geo3550
picket in Dearborn! Not pictured are a couple of lecs who came out to help flier and talk with the students on campus :)
#FairContractNow
As you know, the Librarians, archivists, & curators (LACs) are forming a union of Non-TT faculty in UM’s galleries, libraries, archives, & museums (GLAM). LEOs can bring us one step closer to LEO-GLAM by voting YES this week.
#GreenLightGLAM
#GLAMUpLEO
#VoteYesOnLACs
#UnionStrong
#StrikeForASafeCampus
LEO is *not* on strike, nor has LEO leadership asked for members to go on strike. BUT here are 4 things that Lecturers can do without striking to show their support for
@geo3550
's strike right now:
LEO has reached a Tentative Agreement with University of Michigan Admin. Thank you to our bargaining team for their tireless efforts over the past 6 months. More details to come soon!
#FairShareNow
Come join us on the picket line with
@geo3550
until 3:30 and sign up tomorrow! Pledge not to pick up GSI/GSSA work:
Join GEO picket shifts:
Donate to the GEO Strike Fund:
LEO-GLAM is proud to offer our congratulations to University Staff United! 🎉 USU (AFT-MI Local 284) is a new union of and for staff at
#UMich
. We stand in
#solidarity
with our staff colleagues & look forward to building collective power together! More @
For the parents coming out: “UM Contract leaves us broke, UM wages are a joke.” Admin is offering wages on the Dearborn and Flint that by no means match inflation and increased cost of living in recent years! These educators work hard for their students and need a
#FairShareNow
Thanks for the reminder to all that the struggle for labor
@UMich
continues beyond the the two recently resolved (though to clearly differing degrees) historic strikes by
@geo3550
&
@UMResstaff
!!! + the Faculty Senate has shown that we're(~1/2 of the total) in this together!
To all the departments at
@UMich
whose faculty are now reflecting on how they abandoned their grad students during
@geo3550
's strike...y'all better be showing up for lecturers while
@LEOUnionUmich
bargains for a new contract this year.
U-M staff have published an op-ed in the
@michigandaily
to support
#StrikeForSafeCampus
, highlight their own struggles with austerity, improper COVID protection, and racism on campus, and promote their staff open letter (link at bottom). Read more at
After nearly 8 months of bargaining, the UM administration continues to bring forward inadequate salary offers and refuses to make reasonable movement on issues such as governance, felony disclosure, and teaching professor. As of today, we
#QuitTheContract
.
#SolidarityForever
!
The University continues to pretend their COVID-19 response has been adequate as entire floors of South Quad are put under ‘enhanced social distancing’ bc of clusters in their building. We‘re horrified, scared for those in South Quad, and wondering how
@UMich
thinks this is okay.
In addition to the historic victory in minimum salaries, the contract would include longevity raises, increased job security provisions, enhanced sick pay, and teaching professor titles for longer serving lecturers.
LEO will be back out tomorrow for the faculty picket line with
@geo3550
8-11! Meet on the Diag to check in. Bring your tenure-track friends!
#StrikeForSafeCampus
Been a big day for librarians, archivists, and curators here at U-M. We've got a library building closed because of poisonous spiders, AND we went public with our campaign to join
@LEOUnionUmich
. (The spiders can't be in the bargaining unit with us though.)
ResStaff Building Representatives were just in a meeting with Rick Gibson, Director of Housing. Going into this, we thought we were heading into negotiations on our demands. We were excited. Rick directly and explicitly threatened to fire us. (1/6)
Pres. Schlissel just tried to defend the GPA requirement for
#UMDearborn
&
#UMFlint
students by saying that the average GPA of
#GoBlueGuarantee
students in Ann Arbor is 3.8!! The problem here MARK, is that in Ann Arbor the GPA does not come before the guarantee!
🤯
Something’s not right here, but the job description is clear: do this job for free because there are other auxiliary benefits for doing so that *might* pay off in the long run? 🤦
Regular reminder read “Work Won’t Love You Back” by
@sarahljaffe
Happy Holidays! LEO starts bargaining our contract on 1/15. The platform includes job security, Tri-Campus parity, longevity raises, and COVID protections (among other important pieces). What's at the top of your contract wish list this year?
#DignityParityRespect
#InvestinLecs
This week’s throwback is a news clipping from a 2005
@geo3550
strike! For the month of April we’re celebrating the victories, the hard work of our membership, & the worker power built as we head into LEO’s 20th Anniversary! Solidarity never goes out of style.
#Happy20thLEO
LEO released the following press statement in support our union siblings at
@geo3550
and their strike yesterday!
Pledge not to pick up GSI/GSSA work:
Join GEO picket shifts:
Donate to the GEO Strike Fund:
UM can afford to support all 3 campuses! Get your signs ready for Monday's Quit the Contract Rally & informational picket from 11-1pm at the LSA Building in AA! Tag 3 friends you're gonna bring with you :) You can all RSVP at
#RespectTheLecs
#InvestInLecs
Rebecca Welzenbach is a librarian on the Ann Arbor campus and an invaluable member of the bargaining team ⚡ LEO-GLAM is back at the bargaining table today! Bargaining is open, and members are welcome to observe on zoom
The
@geo3550
strike is over, but the struggle continues to ensure a safe campus for students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community. If you enjoyed your time on the picket line, this will be a good follow-up event to get out of the house! Don't forget about
@UMResstaff
!
Co-hosted with
@geo3550
, we invite you to bring eulogies, instruments, and your best mourning clothes. Route will be posted shortly, we can’t wait to grieve with you. 🪦🖤
Not only is President Schlissel's question based on a false premise but it is elitist. It is pitting faculty against faculty and student against student. It’s a threat that if you support Dbn & Flint GBG your salaries will suffer.
#SolidarityNotAusterity
#OneUniversity
Will the UM admin step up and pay Flint and Dearborn lecturers a living wage or will the continue to disrespect the lecturers on those campuses?
#respectthelecs
.
@LEOUnionUmich
feels the gap in funding between U-M campuses suggests the University undervalues Flint and Dearborn students and that it may contradict the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative.
NEW: Corporate lobbyists are on the verge of a historic loss.
In 2012, Michigan Republicans passed a “right-to-work” law meant to destroy unions in the birthplace of organized labor.
Now that Democrats flipped Michigan blue, the law is ripe for repeal.
Non-tenure track faculty in UMs Galleries Libraries Archives and Museums are forming a union! And lucky us they wanna join LEO! LEO members vote yes this week to
#GreenLightGLAM
#GLAMUpLEO
#UnionStrong
(and peep this GLAM LEO logo 🦁💕)
The
#LEOGLAM
salary article establishes:
⚡ Min salary parity across all 3
#UMich
campuses! By year 3, min salaries for LACs will be $61,000!
⚡ Annual increases of 2.75% yr 1, 3% in yrs 2 & 3
⚡ Equity adjustments based on years of service as a LAC
⚡ 7.5% promotion increases
LSA Student Gov representative Zarriah Farah speaks on the gross inequity and display of principles where Umich will not a commit to pay its student workers a $15 hour minimum wage but committed a $10 million retirement package for President Schlissel.
#FightFor15
#UmichRegents
OK THIS IS A BIG ONE! Please join LEO at the Quit the Contract Rally on Monday, August 9th from 11am-1pm. We will picket in front of the LSA Building located at 500 S. State St. in Ann Arbor. Lecturers and Allies can RSVP at
We had such outpouring of support today at our informational pickets! Special shoutout to
@geo3550
<3 ! We'll be back at it tomorrow morning from 10am-2pm at the Hill Resident Halls on Observatory St. in Ann Arbor. No too late to RSVP at
#RespectTheLecs
Job loss among 44% of Lecturers in Flint.
@UMFlint
&
@UMich
, don’t balance budgets on the backs of precarious workers and don’t harm Flint students who deserve more.
LEOs and other Allies came out today in support of
@geo3550
fighting for a
#FairContractNow
. Meredith Kahn of LEO-GLAM and LEO lec members AndyT Thomson & Craig Regester joined Ted McTaggart of MNA-UMPNC on a panel sharing lessons from our past contract campaigns
#Solidarity
Help us build collective power by supporting LEO-GLAM! We are librarians, archivists & curators at U of M and we’re fighting for better compensation, recognition & equity. Sign up to learn more about our efforts and find out how you can help!
LEOs! The time is now to support our union sibs in
@geo3550
as they bargain for a fair contract! Attend public bargaining tomorrow, Zoom or in person 9-5pm. RSVP:
Sign the pledge not to pick up GSI/GSSA work if GEO goes on strike:
Aprille McKay is an archivist at the Bentley Library in Ann Arbor and an indispensable member of the bargaining team. LEO-GLAM is back at the table today! Bargaining is OPEN and members are welcome to observe on zoom ⚡🦁