GTFF Funeral for UO's Public Promise

Adrian A. #labor #union

On Friday, October 13th, the UO chapter of the GTFF (Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation) held a mock funeral to mourn the death of UO’s Public Promise, followed by a practice picket outside the Knight Library. From @gtff3544 on Instagram: “UO has failed its commitment to the public by refusing to pay education workers fairly, and we’re fighting to change that.”

A sign held at the picket reading “We Want Bread & Roses!” Bread and Roses is a political slogan based off of a poem and is commonly associated with the 1912 Textile Strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts - appealing for fair wages and dignified conditions.

Picket sign bearing the text “Workers of the World, Unite!” Anyone reading this article probably knows the origin of this slogan.

Members of the GTFF and UO Student Workers stand behind a wooden casket, dressed for a typical funeral wake. Multiple speeches were given, predominantly featuring testimony from graduate student workers about how their wages are incapable of covering the cost of living in Eugene. Two signs at the front read “Student or Worker[sic] It’s Both!” and “Student/Worker Solidarity”

A crowd of protesters, dressed in black, gathered on the lawn outside of the Knight Library. Many people were graduate students / members of GTFF, but there were also a handful of bystanders or supporters that participated.