Dear Students, Faculty and Staff: We have been informed that the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) has served the University with an intent to strike notice today. This means that at any time on or after Friday, Feb. 9, the GEO can call for a strike without any additional notice to the University. We were somewhat surprised and disappointed to learn of the decision at this point in the negotiations because we have a mediation session set for tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 30 – a meeting in which we have told the GEO negotiating team we would be prepared with counterproposals. We will continue to negotiate in good faith and we remain absolutely committed to reaching a resolution as soon as possible. We have made good progress with agreements reached on 12 of the 19 original proposals. A current overview of the negotiations can be found at http://go.illinois.edu/geonegotiations. There is still work and discussion to be done to reach a final contract. This means that both sides must continue to meet and conduct the meaningful dialogue necessary to find the common ground that will result in a new agreement. We value the significant contributions our teaching assistants and graduate assistants make to our academic mission. We want to reach an agreement that is fair and beneficial for all involved. We look forward to the next round of mediation and to the progress we will make together with the GEO negotiating team. Further, we remain committed to providing updates on the progress of mediation. Sincerely, Andreas C. Cangellaris

Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost