To: All Faculty & All Academic Professionals & All Civil Service Staff &
           All Undergrad Students & All Grad Students <everybody@illinois.edu> 
    From: "Interim Chancellor and Provost" <provost@illinois.edu>

Reply-To: provost@illinois.edu
 Subject: MASSMAIL - Announcement Regarding GEO

Dear Members of the Campus Community:

The Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) has announced it will strike 
beginning tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m.  

Classes are not cancelled. 

Campus administration will monitor the situation closely and assess 
options for dealing with any disruption that might occur. Our goal is to 
serve our students by minimizing any harm to our educational mission that 
a work stoppage might cause. In most colleges and departments we expect 
classes to proceed uninterrupted.

The university and GEO have been negotiating for seven months on a new 
contract. Saturday night, the two sides agreed on every issue with the 
exception of tuition waivers. Such waivers are tuition exemptions and 
discounts granted to certain graduate students.

Tuition waivers are critical to attracting the best graduate students in a 
nationally competitive market. The university community is committed to 
providing the most competitive tuition waivers possible.

Contrary to GEO assertions, the university has no plans to change current 
policy on tuition waivers. Tuition waivers are governed by the General 
Rules established by the Board of Trustees. The university has assured the 
GEO it will bargain the impact of any change to the fee waiver policy in 
the unlikely event that a change is proposed.

The GEO has announced that it will take the university's contract offer to 
a vote of its members on Tuesday night. We are hopeful that the union 
members will accept the university's offer, which represents the best 
possible package for graduate students within the difficult financial 
constraints we currently face.

For more information on the university's contract offer to the GEO, visit: 
http://illinois.edu/lb/article/13/31970

Robert Easter
Interim Chancellor and Provost
This mailing approved by:
The Office of the Chancellor

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