Member Perspectives: Days on the GEO Picket
In our Member Perspectives series, we ask our members to write about their union experiences. This installment features Matt McManus, writing about picketing in solidarity with GEO, the union representing Graduate Student Employees on our campus.
LEO union member Matt McManus with his GEO picket sign on the Ann Arbor Diag, April 2023.
Matt McManus
It is a truism that striking is good for the soul; a way of reminding one’s self and the forces that be that we have it in our power to make the world anew. Decades after the labor movement was driven under by neoliberal governments, Americans from Rutgers to the University of Michigan, are doing their part to bring us back into the light. While LEO Lecturers are not on strike, our union has expressed a strong sense of solidarity with our GEO colleagues who are struggling to win a living wage and trans healthcare in a tough economic climate. Over the last few weeks, many of us have spent time on the picket lines in a show of support and gratitude for all the GSIs of the University of Michigan do make our school great.
The atmosphere on campus is somewhere between a rally and a concert. Everyone I talked to during my time on the picket lines was enthusiastic, and morale seems very high. This was undoubtedly partly because of the quality lunches, which go well beyond what you’d expect. I’d never tried a fig and cabbage sandwich before, but whoever made it is committing a crime against the world if they keep the recipe to themselves. The weather has been all over the map these past few weeks, and it’s kind of shocking to remember that 10 days ago it was snowing when you’re slathering yourself with sunscreen and most of the students look like they’re heading to a beach party. But snow or sun the energy is infectious, as is the conversation. One of the great benefits of going on strike is you get a rare opportunity to really talk with the people that make the university tick and can communicate without the subtle layers of withdrawal and elliptical self-promotion that mark plenty of 21st-century workplaces. Everyone feels like they’re part of a shared struggle, which creates a sense of real appreciation and authentic curiosity about one another you just can’t regularly get in an environment as relentlessly competitive as the University of Michigan can sadly be.
Wanting to do my part I’ve tried to do a little bit of everything on the picket line; though it can be weird helping out when we’re not on strike ourselves. In my experience, the best way to dissolve this ambivalence is to participate. I took a turn on the microphone trying to keep everyone in line, and have to admit it was a lot of fun. You can feel the energy pulse when you’re chanting together, and it’s a cool sensation to feel yourself in motion with the words and gravitas. But I have to admit that working the drum is really my thing. Always wanting to be a musician-if only I had musical talent!-it was somehow both energizing and soothing at once. Something about how the rhythm helped us march in unison maybe… All the GEOs we talked to were grateful for us being there, and couldn’t have been kinder. Since there are plenty of them on strike, it felt less about having a few more warm bodies to carry a sign and more about the gesture of care and concern from their sibling union. Since it looks like things will be going on for a while I plan to head back next week. It looks like there is a long struggle ahead, but I’ve no doubt that GEOs are committed to winning. That strength made me feel stronger. And I know it will make our union stronger as we go into our negotiation.
You can sign up to join other lecturers like Matt at: http://bit.ly/GEOPicketShift
Donate to the GEO Strike Fund: http://givebutter.com/GEOStrikeFund
Pledge not to pick up GSI/GSSA work: http://bit.ly/GEOHoldTheLine