Graduate research assistants at the University are now part of the Graduate Employees’ Organization’s bargaining unit, following certification by the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board in late July.
This is the first time RAs have been included in the unit, which previously only covered teaching assistants, graduate assistants and pre-professional graduate assistants. GEO is set to begin bargaining with the University over RA incorporation on Wednesday.
Victor Blackwell, executive director of the IELRB, wrote in the certification document that a majority of valid ballots cast in the July 10 union election favored GEO representation. No objections were filed to contest the ballot tally or conduct of the election.
The new certification expands GEO Local 6300’s bargaining unit beyond its existing coverage of TAs, GAs and PPGAs to now include RAs. However, while the current GEO contract — in effect through Aug. 15, 2026 — guarantees minimum salaries, health, dental and vision insurance, tuition and select fee waivers, paid parental leave and other protections for TAs, GAs and PPGAs, those provisions do not yet apply to RAs.
The next step is bargaining over RA incorporation — the process of negotiating how benefits and protections will be extended to RAs. GEO announced on Instagram that its first incorporation bargaining session with the University will take place Wednesday from 1:30 to 4 p.m. in Illini Union Room 314B. The session is open to all members.
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The unionization effort followed a May announcement that over 35% of the University’s roughly 3,700 RAs had signed union authorization cards requesting GEO to be their collective bargaining representative — exceeding the 30% threshold required under the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act to trigger a union election.
The July 10 vote was the culmination of a campaign that began after a 2019 change to the IELRA which classified graduate RAs as employees with collective bargaining rights.
GEO members have told The Daily Illini in previous reporting that unionization will help address issues such as delayed appointment letters, inconsistent pay timelines and a lack of protections for RAs compared with other graduate employees. They have also pointed to national trends in graduate worker unionization, with membership growing 133% between 2012 and 2024.
GEO did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday. The University also did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday but previously told The DI it would work with GEO to incorporate RAs into the contract in accordance with state and federal labor laws.
UPDATE: August 13 —
Pat Wade, the University’s director of executive communications and issues management, told The DI in a statement on Wednesday that Labor and Employee Relations staff will work with GEO to incorporate research assistants similar to how pre-professional graduate assistants were incorporated into the agreement last year.
The biggest implication for campus, Wade said, is that the number of graduate employees represented by GEO will nearly double.
“We adhere to state and federal labor laws and best practices as we continue to promote an environment where people can find value and purpose in coming to and staying at Illinois,” Wade said. “We are looking forward to working in good faith with the union when negotiations begin this week.”
