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A personal statement on the end of the #StrikeForSafeCampus from an ordinary @geo3550 member:
Thank you for listening. It's a long thread. 0/13 https://twitter.com/geo3550/status/1306441530954182656
Thank you for listening. It's a long thread. 0/13 https://twitter.com/geo3550/status/1306441530954182656
A lot to process tonight. I'm proud of the work that we've done by striking to force #umich's shameful reopening & COVID response into the public eye. While we did not win in terms of demands, I believe that we've gained incredible momentum in terms of organizing power. 1/
Let's face it, the offer we got was trash; the status quo holds for our most vulnerable. The demands I was striking for weren't met in the slightest; however, I think that we reached the apex of what we could accomplish in a strike, esp with admin's refusal to even *attempt* 2/
to do right by students, staff & faculty.
Voting to accept this offer was not a vote to give up on trying to protect our campus community, but a vote to do it by different means.
I WILL. NOT. TEACH. if any @UMResstaff or dining staff are retaliated against for striking. 3/
Voting to accept this offer was not a vote to give up on trying to protect our campus community, but a vote to do it by different means.
I WILL. NOT. TEACH. if any @UMResstaff or dining staff are retaliated against for striking. 3/
#StrikeForSafeCampus is historic, and we are the ones on the right side of history. #umich's unwillingness to capitulate to *basic* demands around testing and tracing as entire departments quarantine from exposure is their shame, not ours. People have died. People will die. 5/
As a union we fought as best & as long as we could, with our most powerful tool to force them to do better when no one else could. This offer doesn't mean they'll just "be better" but by taking it we can use our newfound strength and energy to continue to push them to do more. 4/
We've walked away from the table with all the chips we came in with, the scraps they gave us, & immense public support & attention. There is still work to do, but just based off how I went from marginal member to picketing 6+ hrs daily + advocacy, we have ppl willing to do it. 5/
That being said, I echo @acara333's statement by saying that I can no longer in good conscience participate in the recruitment of graduate students for the University of Michigan. First and foremost, #umich admin does not care about our lives or value this campus community, 6/
secondly, my department, @UMSociology had time to make a *public* statement in support of graduate students striking for a safe and just campus and CHOSE NOT TO despite the fact that MOST, if not ALL, of their graduate students were striking and being threatened by UM admin. 7/
I respect my faculty colleagues and the complex decisions that department was likely weighing, but I do not forgive the fact that you left us in the wind to try and guess your intentions instead of firmly standing with your junior colleagues. 8/
After this, I have no faith in academic institutions as spaces for progressive action in their current form. I have no trust in university administration and it is unlikely I will continue pursuing an academic career seeing how it constrains the most well meaning of people. 9/
The courage & dedication shown by @UMResStaff, UM Dining & the members of @geo3550, has changed me fundamentally. This strike affirmed for me the importance of unions, the power of collective action & the heroism in fighting for what's right in spite of fear & intimidation. 10/
Thank you to everyone who donated, spread word, showed up on the picket line and/or didn't cross in solidarity with our for #StrikeForSafeCampus. Knowing of your support kept me going on the picket line when I was limping from the physical toll of picketing. 11/
Thank you to @geo3550 leadership and the fearless picket captains who kept us organized, energized, & taken care of, despite operating off of limited sleep and pure enthusiasm. I can't imagine the hours of unseen labor that went into sustaining the everyday operations. 12/
Finally, I just want to say that I am so glad, grateful, and proud to be in community with @geo3550. Tonight was by no means the end. Tonight was a turning point. First, we must rest. Tomorrow, we get to work. #SolidarityForever 13/13
#StrikeForSafeCampus
#UMMakesUsSick
#StrikeForSafeCampus
#UMMakesUsSick
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ALSO: PLEASE DONATE to the members of Anti-Policing Working Group, the Black students who solidified the Anti-Policing demands in the final stretch of the strike. @geo3550 has benefited from their unpaid labor & they deserve ANY & ALL financial support!! https://twitter.com/geo3550/status/1306563261366763521
