U-M and GEO share a nearly 50-year history of successful and collaborative negotiations. We recognize the value of the union representing the interests of graduate students and to collectively bargain. We also value the bargaining process and have a longstanding commitment to working toward the best outcomes, even when negotiations are contentious. 

There are approximately 2,300 university employees working as graduate student instructors (GSIs) and graduate student staff assistants (GSSAs). These employees play an important role in supporting the university’s teaching mission, while they also pursue their graduate or professional degrees. GSIs are employed to teach, grade and tutor. GSSAs are employees whose work fulfills a degree requirement or is otherwise academically relevant to a degree being pursued and who performs administrative, counseling, or education duties other than those of a GSI.