When the Graduate Employees’ Organization began their ongoing strike on March 29, some classes were temporarily canceled or modified across the University of Michigan, leaving many undergraduate students feeling uncertain about how the final weeks of the semester will unfold. Many U-M students have voiced their support for GEO’s demands for wage increases, though others voiced concern over additional proposals from GEO.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA freshman Gabriella Carnevale said her discussion sections for the semester were canceled as a result of her GSI going on strike. She said her professor also canceled some assignments and ended class early so students could attend the walkout.
“Our discussions sections have been canceled for the rest of the semester, and we had some assignments canceled,” Carnevale said. “And our professor ended class (on Wednesday) at 10:24.”
Standing at the back of the crowd gathered on the Diag for the walkout last Wednesday, Carnevale said she has been supportive of the strike in spite of the disruption to her class.
“I think the strike is an important show of solidarity, and I think it’s an important and necessary part of advocating for a living,” Carnevale said.
In response to GEO’s demands of a 60% pay increase to $38,537 a year, the University has proposed to instead increase GSI pay by 11.5% from $24,053 to $26,819. In an email sent to the campus community on March 24, University President Santa Ono wrote that the University was opposed to two other GEO proposals, including the creation of a non-police urgent response unit, which Ono said is outside the scope of current negotiations. Ono also wrote the University opposed demands for GSIs to have the ability to shift to remote instruction.
Among the other students in support of the strike are Karthik Pasupula and Major Stevens, current LSA representatives in Central Student Government. In an interview with The Daily, Pasupula denounced the offer the University gave GEO in response to their original demands.
“I fully support (the strike),” Pasupula said. “They have the right to strike, especially given how abysmal the wage offer is from the University. There’s clearly some misunderstanding from the University administration that GSI working conditions are student living conditions. They need to pay them a living wage and negotiate with fairness.”
Stevens agreed with Pasupula and expressed similar sentiments about the University’s offer to GEO.
“Most of the things that they’re asking for are completely within Michigan’s realm of possibility,” Stevens said. “Refusing to even acknowledge that they’re able to do that is simply downright stupid and frustrating.”
Other student organizations have also expressed their support for the GEO strike online. In an Instagram story, the University’s undergraduate chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union reposted GEO’s “Giving Blue Day” Instagram post, writing “@aclu_umich stands with @geo_3550.” The University’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America also posted on Instagram in support of the GEO strike, providing information on when and where undergraduate students can participate in protests.
Though some students have voiced support for the GEO strike, others indicated a sense of frustration with the effects of the strike on the undergraduate student body. LSA freshman Braxton Orban told The Daily some students he has talked to expressed anxiety over the lack of GSI support, especially in math classes.
“I know for MATH 115 and 116, people are saying they’re having a lot of difficulties with those classes if their GSI is striking,” Orban said. “I think that people are frustrated by it, not necessarily because they disagree with what the GSI’s are asking (for), but because it makes some learning a little more difficult.”
As the University enters its last month of instruction for winter 2023, Orban said he understands why some students feel more stressed with the lack of GSI assistance in class.
“We’re getting later in the semester, and final exams are coming up,” Orban said. “Some students might have questions they need to ask their GSIs or information they still need to be covered. With the strike going on, it’s harder to do that now. I understand why people are frustrated.”
Some students expressed concern about GEO’s proposal for a non-police urgent response unit while maintaining DPSS on campus. LSA junior Neo Kanamori told The Daily he thought the proposal was irrelevant and could potentially make students feel unsafe in the aftermath of the shooting at Michigan State University in February.
“I just think that was kind of irrelevant to the labor negotiations, and I thought it was dangerous even, considering what happened recently at Michigan State,” Kanamori said.
Kanamori also expressed concern about GEO’s effort to push the University to not voluntarily allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement on campus. In a March 24 email, Ono described this demand as preventing all federal agents from executing warrants on campus. Kanamori also said he thought the proposal could have a negative impact on campus safety.
“I read in the email (Ono sent) that GEO is trying to ask the University to bar federal agents from entering University property to execute search and arrest warrants,” Kanamori said. “I thought that was kind of dangerous, and maybe even ideologically motivated.”
Other students expressed curiosity and uncertainty in response to the second GEO strike in three years. Business freshman Carter Dvorak told The Daily he isn’t sure how the strike will affect his classes, if at all, and said he was more curious to see how the environment will change on campus.
“I’m really curious to see in the next coming weeks what it’s going to be,” Dvorak said. “I’m not in that many classes (that) have GSIs, being in the Business School we have more (teacher assistants), so it’s not as much a direct effect. I’m really curious to see how the energy changes on campus, what it’s going to be like when there are picket lines in front of buildings, I’m honestly more curious than anything else.”
In an email to the campus community sent out March 28, University Provost Laurie McCauley said that the strike would create a complicated campus atmosphere. However, McCauley encouraged students to be open-minded about their peers through campus, and that all parties should focus on preserving a safe campus environment.
“We recognize that these can be difficult and complicated decisions, and we urge all members of our community to respect each individual member’s decisions–including the right of union members not to strike,” McCauley wrote. “Everyone in our university community, including graduate students, have the right to travel safely throughout campus, enter and exit buildings, and continue to work if they choose, regardless of whether there is a strike.”
Rackham student Sovoya Davis, a member of GEO, said that no one in GEO wants to strike.
“You know, nobody wants to strike, we care about our students a lot, so it really just depends on the University of Michigan,” Davis said.
While Dvorak attended the March 29 walkout, he said he was there out of curiosity and wanted to be involved in campus history.
“I think I’m really curious, I think this is a big moment and a relatively important moment on campus,” Dvorak said. “I definitely want to be here with my own eyes and see what’s happening.”
Daily Staff Reporter Joshua Nicholson can be reached at joshuni@umich.edu.