Media Coverage - GEO Strike 2023

(Live-updated document)

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September 2, 2023

• Workers World News: On the Picket Line

September 1, 2023

• Against the Current: GEO vs. The University of Michigan

August 27, 2023

• The Bharat News Express: University of Michigan graduate student employees ratify new deal after historic strike

August 31, 2023

• Michigan Daily: What happened with the GEO strike over the summer

August 25, 2023

• Associated Press: University of Michigan graduate instructors end 5-month strike, approve contract
• Bridge Michigan: Graduate students settle strike at University of Michigan
• CBS Detroit: University of Michigan grad student employees ratify new deal after historic strike
• Crain’s Detroit: UM graduate instructors ratify contract, end 5-month strike
• Detroit News: UM graduate instructors ratify contract, end strike before classes start
• Michigan Advance: University of Michigan grad workers celebrate new contract, promise continued action
• Michigan Daily: GEO accepts UMich contract offer, ends five-month strike
• WXYZ: U-M graduate workers vote to ratify deal with university
• Fox News: UMich grad school strike ends after new contract approved just days before semester starts

August 24, 2023

• Click On Detroit: University of Michigan president agrees to support unarmed, non-police emergency response program
• MLive: University of Michigan exploring unarmed non-police force after union talks

August 23, 2023

• Inside Higher Ed: Days Before Classes Resume, Michigan Reaches Deal With Grad Student Union

August 22, 2023

• Bridge Michigan: University of Michigan graduate student workers poised to end long strike
• Click On Detroit: Graduate workers end 146-day strike after reaching tentative agreement with University of Michigan
• Crain’s Detroit: UM, graduate student instructors' union reach tentative agreement
• Detroit Free Press: University of Michigan, Graduate Employees' Organization reach tentative agreement
• Detroit News: Striking UM grad student instructors begin voting to ratify new 3-year deal
• Michigan Daily: An end in sight: GEO authorizes bargaining team to agree to UMich contract
• Michigan Radio: Graduate Employees' Organization and UM sign tentative agreement after months-long strike
• MLive: Striking grad instructors strike deal with University of Michigan 
• WXYZ Detroit: Striking U-M graduate workers reach deal with university
• WXYZ Detroit: U of M Graduate Student teachers rejoice as contracts negotiations head for ratification this Friday

August 21, 2023

• CBS Detroit: University of Michigan sends striking graduate employees "last, best and final" contract offer
• Crain’s Detroit: Striking grad students union to vote on 'final' offer from UM
• Detroit News: Striking graduates begin voting on UM's latest offer
• Forbes: University Of Michigan Makes “Last, Best, And Final Offer” To Striking Graduate Students
• Michigan Advance: As a new school year looms, U of M presents striking graduate workers with final contract offer

August 20, 2023

• Detroit News: UM, Striking GEO are ‘close’ on negotiations to settle contract before school year begins
• Michigan Daily: University offers ‘last, best and final’ contract to GEO

August 17, 2023

• WEMU 89.1: Striking U-M grad workers will not accept university's counteroffer over three "low cost" issues

August 16, 2023

• WDET: University of Michigan making plans to replace striking educators

August 11, 2023

• Detroit Free Press: University of Michigan Graduate Employees Organization rejects latest contract proposal
• Michigan Daily: What to know about GEO’s pay demands: An in-depth analysis of graduate student pay
• WEMU 89.1: Striking graduate workers to submit counter offer to University of Michigan

August 9, 2023

• Detroit News: UM’s Strategy: Replace Striking Graduate Student Instructors 

August 8, 2023

• AP News: University of Michigan threatens jobs of striking graduate instructors
• Fox 2 Detroit: Striking U-M grad instructors face threat by school of being replaced for fall
• WXYZ Detroit: U-M delivers warning to graduate workers who may consider striking that they could be replaced
• WDIV-TV, Local 4 News: ‘We are pushing for a U-M for all’: University of Michigan threatens to replace striking grad workers

August 4, 2023

• Michigan Daily: GEO to respond to contract offer by Aug. 10 following membership vote
• MLive: Deadline Looming for University of Michigan striking grad workers to accept new pay offer

August 3, 2023

• Detroit News: Striking UM Graduate Instructors Get New Offer as Fall Classes Loom

July 11, 2023

• Left Voice: The University of Michigan Exploits Graduate Workers, Refuses to Pay a Living Wage

July 3, 2023

• Notes From Below: Reflections on a Teaching Assistant Strike

June 29, 2023

• People’s World: Michigan graduate workers halt bargaining after university refuses to negotiate sexual harassment protections

June 23, 2023

• Detroit News: UM Graduate Students Walk Out of Negotiations Over Sexual Harassment Policy

June 22nd, 2023

• The Chronicle of Higher Education: Michigan’s Striking Graduate Students Ask: Where Did These Grades Come From?

June 16th, 2023

• Michigan Advance: Fake grades scandal at University of Michigan leads to accreditation board investigation
• Michigan Radio: Grade falsification allegations sparks review by University of Michigan's accrediting institution
• WEMU: University of Michigan under investigation after striking graduate instructors file complaint

June 15th, 2023

• Detroit News: UM's accreditation body investigating claims of grade fraud
• MLive: Falsified grading at University of Michigan a potential concern, accreditor says

June 14th, 2023

• Bridge Michigan: University of Michigan probed on claim it falsified student grades

June 10th, 2023

• IWW Solidaridad - Trabajadores graduados en huelga

June 9th, 2023

• Michigan Radio: Unfair labor practice charges dropped but war of words continues in GEO strike against U of M

June 8th, 2023

• Michigan Advance: U of M and graduate workers settle unfair labor practice charges, school drops lawsuit for damages
• Michigan Daily: UMich and GEO reach settlement on Unfair Labor Practices and lawsuit

June 5th, 2023

• The New York Times: Please Don’t Call My Job a Calling

June 1st, 2023

• Left Voice: Campus Cops Intimidate Grad Workers in Ann Arbor, Michigan

May 30th, 2023

• The Architect’s Newspaper: Graduate students at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College are on strike for better pay

May 23rd, 2023

• Detroit Metro Times: University of Michigan is fabricating grades for students of striking instructors, emails show

May 19th, 2023

• Inside Higher Ed: At Michigan, Getting an A Because Your Instructor’s On Strike
• MLive: Regents spar for 1st time in public with striking University of Michigan grad workers
• WEMU: U-M requesting independent factfinder to resolve GEO strike

May 18th, 2023

• City Pulse Lansing: Grad worker union accuses U of M of ‘fabricating’ grades, school says claims are ‘false’
• Detroit News: UM petitions state for fact-finder in labor dispute with grad student instructors
• Fox 2 Detroit: Striking U-M grad student instructors claim school is falsifying grades
• Michigan Advance: Grad worker union accuses U of M of ‘fabricating’ grades, school says claims are ‘false’
• People’s World: Michigan grad students fighting for living wages—and protection from harassment

May 17th, 2023

• Michigan Daily: UMich announces plan to input late grades due to GEO strike
• Michigan Daily: What is happening with the Rackham Plan?
• Michigan Radio: Striking graduate instructors accuse U-M of "fabricating" grades; university disputes claim

May 16th, 2023

• WEMU: UM suggests move to fact-finding if talks stall with striking GEO

May 15th, 2023

• MLive: University of Michigan offers 1% additional pay bump to striking grad workers
• The Detroit News: University of Michigan may seek fact-finding process in GEO strike
• Michigan Radio: University of Michigan presents another contract offer to striking graduate workers

May 14th, 2023

• Jacobin: Graduate Workers at the University of Michigan Have Been on Strike for Over a Month

May 10th, 2023

• Click On Detroit: University of Michigan: 91% of grades submitted as grad student employees continue strike

May 9th, 2023

• MLive: 91% of grades submitted at University of Michigan amid grad worker strike

May 5th, 2023

• WEMU: U-M grad student instructors to continue strike into summer as grades remain withheld

May 4th, 2023

• MLive: Strikers file grievance for lack of payment from University of Michigan

May 2nd, 2023

• Michigan Advance: Striking U of M grad workers remain defiant as contract talks continue
• Michigan Daily: Op-Ed: GEO needs you to reject #BullshitGrades

May 1st, 2023

• Jacobin: Right Now Is the Most Exciting Moment to Join the Labor Movement in Decades
• Michigan Daily: GEO continues strike, grading plans remain in flux
• New York Review Of Architecture: On the Line
• The Chronicle of Higher Education: Striking U. of Michigan Grad Students Aren’t Submitting Grades. The University Wants Faculty to Fill In.
• The Nation: This May Day, Let’s Celebrate the Campus Labor Movement

April 29th, 2023

• Detroit News: Wynton Marsalis calls on UM grads to bridge societal divides
• Left Voice: Striking Workers at the University of Michigan Are Building Powerful Solidarity
• Michigan Advance: University of Michigan graduate workers protest during commencement weekend
• The Press Project: Discovering America: A Wave of Strikes and the University Suing Its Students

April 28th, 2023

• AstroBites: Graduate Students on Strike at the University of Michigan (and we need your help)
• Detroit News: Grade orders become new flash point in UM graduate students' strike
• Forbes: Unionization Efforts Spread Through Higher Education As Colleges Double Down
• MLive: Hello, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan graduation day; student grades threatened by strike

April 27th, 2023

• Michigan Radio: University of Michigan graduate student employees still on strike as term ends
• MLive: Striking grad workers get $25K gift from Ann Arbor City Council member

April 26th, 2023

• Democracy Now: Graduate Workers at University of Michigan on Strike, Report Retaliation from University President
• Detroit Free Press: Democrats vote to allow grad student research assistants to unionize
• Inside Higher Ed: Grading Amid a Grad Workers’ Strike
• MLive: University of Michigan faculty withholding grades to support striking grad workers
• East Village Magazine: UM – Flint tenured faculty begin unionization efforts, propelled by governance, pay, work life, university climate concerns
• The Daily Princetonian: Princeton grad students support employee strikes and protests at Rutgers
• The Real News Network: Umich Docks Pay, Calls Cops On Striking Grad Students
• Archinect: Strike at Taubman College and the University of Michigan continues as student workers and staff assistants demand fair wages

April 25th, 2023

• Click on Detroit: Judge: University of Michigan grad student workers must submit grades completed prior to March 29 strike
• The Philadelphia Inquirer: What’s really behind a wave of college strikes
• The Chronicle of Higher Education: The University of Michigan Demands Flattery for President — While Crushing Labor
• WEMU: Striking UM Graduate Employee Organization members plan more picketing

April 24th, 2023

• Left Voice: University of Michigan Graduate Student Strike Continues in the Face of Increasing Retaliation
• Michigan Advance: Tensions rise as bargaining stalls on new contract for U of M graduate instructors
• MLive: New deal mandates striking University of Michigan grad instructors to submit unfinished grades
• WEMU: Negotiations between U-M and its graduate workers stalled

April 22nd, 2023

• Salon: Strikes on campus: A chance to take back college from the corporations
• MLive: Does the strike at University of Michigan affect student grades? Both sides weigh in.
• CBS Detroit: Grad union protestors accused of harassing U of M President Santa Ono

April 21st, 2023

• Associated Press: University president cancels cello performance amid strike
• CBS Detroit: Grad union protestors accused of harassing U of M President Santa Ono
• The Detroit News: Two UM grad students detained during incident with President Ono
• Fox 2 Detroit: Striking University of Michigan grad students detained after approaching school president at restaurant
• The Guardian: ‘Many of us are struggling’: why US universities are facing a wave of strikes
• Michigan Daily: UMich planning to withhold pay from striking GSIs
• Michigan Daily: GEO rallies to condemn U-M support for police and militarization on and off campus
• Click on Detroit: Two striking U-M graduate workers detained in downtown Ann Arbor
• MLive: 2 University of Michigan strikers arrested during Santa Ono protest

April 20th, 2023

• MLive: Bernie Sanders offers his support to striking University of Michigan graduate instructors
• Click on Detroit: Bernie Sanders tweets support for striking University of Michigan graduate student workers
• The Detroit News: Graduate student picket halts UM hospital construction on Thursday
• Fox 2 Detroit: Striking U-M grad workers shut down construction site in bid for fair wages
• Left Voice: Striking Graduate Workers at University of Michigan Hold Rally for Abolition
• Michigan Daily: 2 GEO protesters detained and released in police encounter outside Ann Arbor restaurant
• Michigan Daily: Santa Ono talks GEO strike, club sports and his Taylor Swift era

April 19th, 2023

• Michigan Advance: U of M grad workers continue to strike while appealing ruling
• MLive: College athletes, student researchers could form unions if Michigan Senate bill passes

April 18th, 2023

• Associated Press: Judge rules University of Michigan grad strike unfair
• Click On Detroit: Judge: Striking University of Michigan graduate employees in violation of contract
• The Detroit News: Administrative law judge rules striking UM grad assistants committed unfair labor practice
• Michigan Advance: Judge recommends U of M grad student strike be halted, union says it will appeal
• MLive: Judge rules striking grad instructors are violating contract with University of Michigan
• WEMU: Administrative law judge: Graduate workers union at U-M committed unfair labor practice

April 17th, 2023

• Detroit Free Press: Judge recommends end to U-M strike, GEO to appeal
• Michigan Daily: State judge rules that GEO strike against UMich violates current contract
• Michigan Daily: UMich tour guides discuss impact of GEO strike on campus tours
• Michigan Daily: GEO strike connects with UMich community at Diag party and concert
• Michigan Daily: America is on strike. Here’s what it means.
• Michigan Radio: Judge says UM grad workers union committed unfair labor practice; union to appeal
• WDET: Detroit Today: University of Michigan in labor dispute with graduate students

April 14th, 2023

• Fox 2 Detroit: Striking U-M graduate workers score court victory in wage battle

April 13th, 2023

• OnLabor: News & Commentary April 13, 2023
• ClickOn Detroit: Judge denies University of Michigan injunction against striking grad union

• WEMU: GEO strike at UM to delay final grades for students
• Mother Jones: Why Rutgers Faculty Are Striking for the First Time in 257 Years

April 11th, 2023

• Fox News: MI judge declines to stop University of Michigan graduate students' strike
• Michigan Advance: Judge again rejects U of M request to halt strike by graduate workers
• University Record: Court denies injunction to halt strike by graduate workers
• WEMU: Injunction denied in UM grad student strike

April 10th, 2023

• Audacity Magazine: In Conversation With the GEO of University of Michigan
• Associated Press: Judge won’t halt strike by graduate students at U-Michigan

• CBS News
• USNews
• WXYZ

• Bridge Michigan: Judge declines to order University of Michigan grad students back to work
• Detroit News: Judge rules UM graduate student strike can continue
• Her Music Academia: ISSA STRIKE! (With Anna Rose Nelson)
• Law360: U. Of Michigan Still Can't Force Grad Students Back To Work
• Michigan Daily: UMich does not get restraining order against GEO
• Michigan Radio: Injunction denied in UM grad student strike
• MLive: University of Michigan grad union strike can continue, judge rules
• MLive: University of Michigan attorneys argue strike has canceled classes, impacted grading
• WEMU: Graduate Employees' Organization remain on strike as UM seeks court injunction
• WXYZ: U-M graduate student enters week 3 of strikes
• Yahoo: U-M Graduate student strike enters week 3

April 9th, 2023

• Black Ink: The Only Living Wage Is Everything
• Michigan Daily: Op-Ed: The GEO strike and labor injunctions

April 7th, 2023

• LeftVoice: University of Michigan Graduate Students Strike for a Living Wage and a Broad Social Justice Agenda

April 6th, 2023

• ClickOn Detroit: Ann Arbor City Council members stand with striking U-M graduate student workers
• Michigan Daily: Op-Ed: Why undergraduates should be on the picket line

April 5th, 2023

• Michigan Advance: Judge denies U of M request for order ending grad assistants’ strike
• Michigan Daily: A look back at the first week of the GEO strike
• MLive: Judge denies demand that striking University of Michigan workers return to jobs
• WKAR: UM grad assistant strike to continue into 2nd week

April 4th, 2023

• Best Colleges: University of Michigan Graduate Students Strike As Labor Dispute Heads to Court
• Bridge Michigan: U-M grad student worker strike continues; judge won’t end walkout
• Fox 2 Detroit: Judge declines to order striking University of Michigan graduate student employees back to work
• Law360: UMich Can't Stop Striking Grad Students Yet, Judge Says
• Michigan Daily: UMich requests injunction against GEO, decision delayed until evidentiary hearing
• Michigan Radio: UM grad worker strike to continue into 2nd week
• MLive: Judge denies demand that striking University of Michigan workers return to jobs
• WILX 10: University of Michigan takes graduate student workers to court over strike
• WMUK News: UM grad assistant strike to continue into a second week
• WXYZ Detroit: U of M graduate employees to strike amid stalled negotiations

April 3rd, 2023

• Michigan Daily: Faculty members and undergraduates protest in solidarity with GEO
• MLive: No pay for striking grad workers starting this week, University of Michigan says
• The Real News: University of Michigan seeks court injunction to stop grad student strike
• WLIX 10: University of Michigan takes graduate student workers to court over strike
• WNEM: University of Michigan takes graduate student workers to court over strike

April 2nd, 2023

• Detroit News: UM asks court to end strike; graduate employees won't back down

March 31st, 2023

• Bridge Michigan: University of Michigan sues graduate union over strike, bargaining continues
• Inside Higher Ed: Michigan Grad Workers Strike
• MLive: University of Michigan files lawsuits demanding grad strikers back into classrooms
• Working People pod: University of Michigan Grads Strike for a Living Wage (w/ Alejo Stark) 

March 30th, 2023

• Diverse: Issues in Higher Education: UMich Graduate Employees Union Goes on Strike After Months of Negotiations.
• Michigan Advance: U of M graduate instructors hit the picket line
• Michigan Daily: GEO commences strike against UMich at 10:24 a.m.
• WKAR: U of M graduate employees go on strike, higher pay a key demand.
• WWMT Kalamazoo: University of Michigan grad assistants go on strike
• WXYZ: University of Michigan Graduate Employees go on strike

March 29th, 2023

• CBS Detroit: University of Michigan grad assistants go on strike.
• ClickOnDetroit: University of Michigan files unfair labor practice charge against striking student workers
• Crain’s Detroit: UM’s graduate students union strikes over contract.
• Bridge Michigan: University of Michigan pushes back against graduate student strike
• Detroit Free Press: U-M graduate student workers on strike, seeking better pay and benefits
• Detroit News: Graduate students’ union outlines top five demands for UM in talks.  
• Detroit News: University of Michigan graduate students go on illegal strike with rally (old headline after they got ratio’d for the spin, but we’re keeping the original!)
• Fox 2 News Detroit: University of Michigan graduate student workers strike over wages
• MLive: Graduate Employees Organization begins strike on University of Michigan campus
• MLive: Instructor strike forces flexible learning for University of Michigan students
• MLive: Higher pay is key issues in strike by University of Michigan grad instructors.
• Michigan Radio: U of M graduate employees go on strike, higher pay a key demand.
• MSN: University of Michigan graduate student workers on strike

March 28th, 2023

• ABC 12: University of Michigan graduate employees are scheduled to strike
• Bridge Michigan: University of Michigan graduate workers set to begin strike Wednesday
• Detroit Free Press: U-M graduate workers to go on strike Wednesday morning
• Detroit News: UM graduate students call strike; university prepares for legal action
• Fox 47: University of Michigan graduate workers to strike, rally on Wednesday morning
• WCMU: Unionized graduate student workers at U of M plan strike
• WXYZ: University of Michigan graduate workers to strike, rally on Wednesday morning

March 27th, 2023

• Michigan Daily: GEO strikes for the second time in three years

March 26th, 2023

• Michigan Daily: What happens if GEO strikes?

March 25th, 2023

• Forbes: Strikes Loom at Rutgers, University Of Michigan, Cal State System

March 24th, 2023

• Michigan Radio:  Why University of Michigan graduate workers say they're willing to strike
• WWMT: University of Michigan Graduate Employees Organization votes to authorize labor strike

TV/Radio

9&10 News

CBS Detroit [11]

Michigan Radio [12]

WWMT [5]

WWJ [10]

WNEM [3]

WOOD [3]

WDIV [7]

WXYZ [13]

WSYM [2]

WLAJ/WLNS [3]

Fox 2 [12]

WILX [3]

WTOL

WJRT [4]

WMYD

Department and Organization support

• All Campus Labor Council
• American Friends Service Committee's Michigan Criminal Justice Program
• Ann Arbor City Council
• Detroit Federation of Teachers
• Huron Valley Area Labor Federation
• Lecturers’ Employee Organization
• Michigan Nurses Association
• Professional & Administrative Association AFT 4667
• Rutgers AAUP-AFT and Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union
• U-M AAUP
• UM Community Condemns Administration’s Response to GEO Strike (April 2023)
• U-M Department of Comparative Literature
• U-M Department of English
• U-M Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures
• U-M Department of History
• U-M Department of Linguistics
• U-M Department of Philosophy
• U-M Department of Romance Languages and Literatures (RLL)
• U-M Faculty Pledge to Withhold Grades Until Fair Contract Is Negotiated With GEO (April 2023)
• U-M Initiative on Disability Studies
• U-M School of Social Work Student Union
• U-M Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs (SACUA) (April 10, 2023)
• U-M SACUA (April 21, 2023)
• UCSC UAW 2865 Grad Workers

Public figure solidarity

• Scholar Support Letter

• Bernie Sanders on Twitter: No graduate student worker should be living in poverty while the University of Michigan sits atop a $17 billion endowment. These 2,500 workers deserve safe working conditions and living wages. The University must bargain a fair contract immediately.
• Bryan Roby, U-M LSA Frankel Center for Judaic Studies
• Cedric de Leon, UMass Amherst
• Christine Chavez cancelled her event for March 31st, 2023
• Rashida Tlaib on Twitter: I stand with our @geo3550
• Yousef Rabhi on Twitter: Solidarity all day with @geo3550 
• Rep. Carrie Rheingans on Twitter: I just signed up for @geo3550 picket shifts
• UAW President Shawn Fain: The UAW stands with the Graduate Employees Organization in its fight for affordability and dignity for all graduate workers.
• Professor Sally Haslanger (MIT, Tanner Lecture on Human Values): “I want to express my support for the graduate student union. Graduate students are an essential part of a research and teaching institution as great as this one… I really think that they deserve full support by the faculty and administration in making their lives manageable and enabling them to thrive.”