The Undergraduate-Graduate Alliance held its first meeting of the school year Tuesday at the University YMCA. This is a group sponsored by the University Graduate Employees’ Organization in order to encourage and facilitate communication between GEO members and undergraduates.

Communication is particularly important to the GEO especially during their contract negotiations with the University, said Juan Bernal, meeting organizer and graduate student. Bernal will be on the strike working committee if the GEO’s strike authorization vote passes Friday.

Bernal said the purpose of the meeting was to reach out to undergraduate students for their support.

“If we stand together, we can put a lot more pressure on the administration since we are all students on this campus and (striking) will affect us all,” he said.

He said the GEO needs undergraduate support in the coming weeks to keep negotiations with the federal mediator moving or to make an efficient strike if negotiations aren’t successful. 

Natalye Tate, graduate student, was the first speaker at the meeting, explaining the process of contract negotiations and how long the GEO has been negotiating with the administration. Tate explained the frustration felt among GEO members regarding the University’s lack of communication at the bargaining table, citing the example that the GEO chose 57 hours within three weeks for possible mediation meetings while the University selected 16 of those hours, canceling one meeting out of those 16 hours. The cancelled meeting was rescheduled for November 26.

“We only have three bargaining sessions left, and we’ve still yet to talk about the big (issues) — tuition waivers, some big issues with healthcare and wages,” Bernal said. “I was there last Friday, and it took them all day to talk about an issue that is not huge.”

Tuition waivers remain an issue of concern for the GEO, Tate said.

“If we don’t receive waivers, a lot of us cannot be here teaching you…because we cannot pay our tuition,” she said. 

The University is searching for a contract agreement that “reflects difficult economic times we are in, and that appropriately reflects the rights and interests of each side,” said campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler.

“The University remains optimistic that we can reach an agreement with the GEO, without a strike occurring,” Kaler said in an email Saturday. “It was helpful to work with the federal mediator Friday.” 

GEO spokeswoman Stephanie Seawell said in an earlier interview that the GEO also wants to reach a fair agreement.

“We want to settle this in the bargain room,” she said. “We want to stay in the classroom.”

But as Bernal noted during his presentation, a strike is the last resort in the GEO’s efforts to negotiate a fair contract.

“If we say yes (to a strike), our membership does believe it’s the only option left,” Bernal said.

The next mediation session will take place Wednesday, and the GEO’s strike authorization vote will run until Thursday. The votes will be counted on Nov. 16.

Tyler can be reached at [email protected].

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated stated that the administration bargaining team had cancelled one of the mediated negotiation sessions. The November 20 meeting was cancelled due to a conflict in the mediator’s schedule, and has since been rescheduled for November 26. The Daily Illini regrets this error.