| Formation | April 15, 1974 |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Our mission is to represent, advocate for, and organize graduate student workers and to build collective power in the pursuit of social & economic justice. |
| Headquarters | Ann Arbor, MI |
Parent organization | American Federation of Teachers |
| Website | https://www.geo3550.org/ |
Graduate Employees' Organization 3550 (GEO 3550) is a labor union representing the over 2,000 Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) and Graduate Student Staff Assistants (GSSAs) on the three campuses that make up the University of Michigan (U-M).
Organizing for a graduate student union at U-M began in the 1970s. They were first certified as the official union representing GSIs, GSSAs, and Graduate Student Research Assistants (GSRAs) at U-M on April 15, 1974, and they won their first contract the next year.[1] GEO 3550 is one of the oldest graduate student unions in the United States. GEO 3550 is affiliated with the Michigan and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and, through AFT, with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).[2]
GEO 3550's "mission is to represent, advocate for, and organize graduate student workers and to build collective power in the pursuit of social & economic justice."[3] In 2019, the union's Steward's Council adopted the following nine guiding principals: Represent, Advocate For, Organize, Collective Bargaining, Democracy, Social Justice, Solidarity, Community, Education & Research.[3]
GEO 3550 won their first contract in 1975 and won their most recent contract in the spring of 2020. Bargaining for their next contract begins in the fall of 2022, and their current contract expires at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year.[4]