Graduate Employees' Organizing Committee
Support Our Work
On top of our work to protect graduate workers at Wayne State, GEOC also has programs that seek to financially support graduate workers in need. Please consider contributing to our programs that aim to help graduate workers during their most difficult times.
Survivors of Sexual Violence Fund
This fund gives up to three $1,000 grants to graduate workers who are survivors of sexual violence. Beginning in 2021 GEOC is giving 5 grants to GTAs or GSAs who apply for the grant. We hope to be able to expand the fund in the future to allow for more recipients to receive support.
To learn more about the fund, including eligibility, click here to view our FAQ.
Hardship Fund
The Graduate Employee’s Organizing Committee AFT #6123 (GEOC) founded the GEOC Hardship Fund in Winter 2022 as a scholarship fund to support graduate employees at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
The creation of the fund is in response to an unmet need for ongoing financial support among graduate workers at Wayne State University. GEOC recognizes that the current wages offered to graduate student workers at Wayne State University are unlivable, given rising inflation and the cost of living in Detroit and the Metro Detroit area. As a result, graduate workers at Wayne State are often unable to cover the costs of emergency situations.
The fund is open to any student employee in the GEOC bargaining unit who has experienced any situation that puts them in financial need. The funding committee relies on a system of good faith and does not place the burden of proof on graduate workers. The scholarship award can be used to help cover unexpected healthcare emergencies, therapy, legal fees, housing fees, travel costs, and/or groceries.
GEOC will allot an annual minimum of $1000 total to the fund in order to distribute $250 scholarship awards to 4 individual applicants over the course of an academic year. Based on the increasing number of graduate employees who reach out to GEOC for financial assistance each semester, we anticipate many more applications than we are able to fund. GEOC is in the process of increasing funds and plans to offer support multiple times throughout the calendar year as well as emergency funding for time-sensitive issues.
