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A personal statement on the end of the #StrikeForSafeCampus from an ordinary @geo3550 member:
Thank you for listening. It& #39;s a long thread. 0/13 https://twitter.com/geo3550/status/1306441530954182656">https://twitter.com/geo3550/s...
Thank you for listening. It& #39;s a long thread. 0/13 https://twitter.com/geo3550/status/1306441530954182656">https://twitter.com/geo3550/s...
A lot to process tonight. I& #39;m proud of the work that we& #39;ve done by striking to force #umich& #39;s shameful reopening & COVID response into the public eye. While we did not win in terms of demands, I believe that we& #39;ve gained incredible momentum in terms of organizing power. 1/
Let& #39;s face it, the offer we got was trash; the status quo holds for our most vulnerable. The demands I was striking for weren& #39;t met in the slightest; however, I think that we reached the apex of what we could accomplish in a strike, esp with admin& #39;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& #39;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& #39;t mean they& #39;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& #39;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& #39;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& #39;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& #39;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& #39;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">https://twitter.com/geo3550/s...
