In Solidarity with Our Student Graduate Workers
Introduction
GLOBAL ASIAN STUDIES (GLAS) STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY WITH OUR GRADUATE STUDENT WORKERS
University of Illinois Chicago
The Core Faculty in Global Asian Studies (GLAS) at the University of Illinois Chicago stand in solidarity with the UIC Graduate Employment Organization (GEO) Local 6297 who is currently on strike. We urge the campus administration to offer our graduate student workers a contract with wages and working conditions that will allow them to thrive as they continue to contribute to the mission of the university.
As the youngest interdisciplinary academic unit in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and one that came about as a legacy of the activism of undergraduate and graduate students who persisted and fought for almost two decades to establish this program, we stand in full support of GEO. Graduate students have provided critical and invaluable labor to allow us to carry out the research, teaching, and programmatic mission of the department. From helping craft the call to establish the program to serving as graduate and teaching assistants in the program over the years, graduate students have been key partners in our growth and success.
Graduate students are crucial backbones of our community and they help in “advancing the university’s equity-focused mission to provide the broadest access to the highest levels of educational, research, and clinical excellence.”
Graduate students have been working without a contract for more than a year. We urge campus administration to end this strike and provide a contract that allows our students to thrive as educators and workers in our university.
This statement by Global Asian Studies (GLAS) does not represent the University of Illinois Chicago, nor is it the university's official position, nor does it represent the views of all faculty, staff and students within the department.