On Thursday, November 12, members of the UIUC Graduate Employees' Organization (GEO) will stage a major rally on the University of Illinois Springfield campus outside of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees (BOT) Meeting.

GEO members and their allies will march from the UI Springfield Student Affairs Center to the UI Springfield Public Affairs Center, where the BOT meeting will be held. The rally will take place at the Public Affairs Center from 8:30-9:00.

Two additional rallies will be staged in solidarity with the event in Springfield, IL. At 12:00 pm, Thursday, November 12, UIUC GEO members and allies will rally on the UIUC campus, Quad side of the Illini Union. Also on Thursday, November 12, at 11:30 am, members of the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) GEO and their allies will rally on the main quad of the UIC campus in Chicago, Illinois.

All three rallies will be staged in support of ongoing contract negotiations between the UIUC and UIC Graduate Employees' Organizations ongoing contract negotiations with the administration of the University of Illinois. The UIUC GEO is seeking a contract that includes protection for tuition waivers and a minimum salary set at the University's own estimate of a living wage in Champaign-Urbana. The UIC GEO is seeking a contract that seeks a living wage, improvement to healthcare, and an end to all tuition differentials. Both union locals have been met with stalling, delay, and highly regressive contract proposals from the University of Illinois administration.