*Dear CGE Members and Community,* *Quick Little Reminders* - *Late Winter Appointment Letters* Late appointment letters can be frustrating, destabilizing, and frightening. Therefore, OSU owes grads 50$ for late appointment letters. If your appointment letter for Winter term is late, look out for an email from vp_grievances@cge6069.org in the coming weeks. - *Bargaining Committee (meets Wednesday 11-1pm @WestM):* *Like everything else CGE does, the impact bargaining team is made up of members - that’s you! *If you are interested in learning more about or even joining the Bargaining Committee please email vp_bargaining@cge6069.org with a non-OSU email indicating your interest. Anyone can attend bargaining committee meetings, even if you are not a member of the team. *We are especially interested in making **sure that we have representation from masters students, international **students, humanities students, queer students, students of color, and **any other group of students who face challenges that can be addressed **through contract negotiations.* No prior experience in research/negotiations is expected or required. Announcements - *Response to Recent News* We would like to pass on a statement from Ariana Jacob, the president of American Federation of Teachers Oregon (our state level parent union): Today we are reeling from the news that two people in Portland were shot by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents. We believe they are in the hospital and will recover, but we don’t have all the details yet. We are however certain that the presence of militarized homeland security agents makes all of us more vulnerable to violence, unlawful arrests, and being shot. Enough is enough. We call for an end to ICE operations in our communities and external oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, which has shown itself to be unable and uninterested in holding itself accountable. We also condemn and grieve the horrifying murder of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Our hearts go out to her family and community. An independent investigation that involves state and local officials must be allowed to take place. On behalf of the AFT-Oregon Executive Council, we strongly condemn the latest actions by the Trump administration, ICE and Homeland Security. The invasion of Venezuela, kidnapping of their president, and hijacking of their oil tankers are all violations of both U.S. and international law. We demand that Congress immediately rein in this lawless administration, and if Congress cannot do that we know we need to act together as a labor community to protect our democracy. You can write a letter <https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.qUXRBnqZ7T8nxbpAcIVwoUsWLkUMWlo_0JmZttSlm3_UmSatfeUGC7-OjbEon8pM8wO8eFnnZWLkIeXRLDp9-zuTMCnyJUCgDGhnuKqLeyZibDT8zLttpSPjiFdvPM5IVRxdqqTdZnPqDjDtxPwf1Kgcw361wpEnEq2RI7Qjav7f6rJTPTA5-rczJlJdCSEDu9i0p8aJ9MsDpbrp4CIP92HdJ8WniL5SO0epKJcDMLA0QnStXxaqXzgOMoQoZNkRrhvBZPq-cpxLi-bLd33DR85kiEmbYbN-SczleqQKFo6eNi69b5ErymyGOSB_pkc7sUF-vzwhsHMoOWzvttBPYA/4n5/DRWnl7XES3WdjsyH5-l79g/h3/h001.GcHHq8v4teaMPQFkribMoTsR57Y6hWSgoQhrNKlAoMg> to your congressional representatives about this. We echo the above statement; state violence and authoritarianism must end. We stand with those who have suffered at the hands of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. We are committed to protecting and supporting our community, and opposing ICE actions here and everywhere. In addition to the above call to write to your representatives, there are many other actions we can take. There are protests across the region, including tomorrow 1/10 12-2 at the Benton County Courthouse. You can also donate to Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (https://pircoregon.org/donate), and get trained in responding to ICE presence. If you are interested in attending ICE response training hosted by CGE reach out to organizer@cge6069.org. - *Cigna and Student Health Services* Several grad employees have reported having visits to Student Health Services treated as out-of-network by Cigna, which contradicts what OSU reported earlier. Fortunately, when we reached out OSU Human Resources they confirmed that Student Health Services is in-network. They said that Cigna is reprocessing claims where Student Health Services was incorrectly treated as out-of-network. If you have this issue you can reach out to Cigna and they should be able to help. You can also reach out to us and OSU Human Resources. Upcoming Events - *ICE Out for Good, Tomorrow 1/10, 12-2pm, Benton County Courthouse* Come together to honor lives taken by ICE, demand accountability for ICE's violent actions, connect with others, and demand ICE leave our community. *Committees and Caucuses that need your help* Grad workers are capable and passionate people who can together exercise great power. One of the ways we do that is through caucuses and committees. All meetings are at WestM unless otherwise stated. *Grievance Committee: *A great opportunity for people to learn more about the contract and how we defend it. Meets Fridays at 4pm. Email vp_grievances@cge6069.org for more information. *International Caucus: *The CGE International Caucus is open to all graduate students regardless of CGE membership status and serves to represent the concerns of all international students at Oregon State University. The International Graduate Caucus recognizes that international graduate students attending OSU have unique needs and difficulties in comparison to US students. Reach out to president@cge6069.org. In solidarity, Serena Frazee (she/her) VP for Communications, Coalition of Graduate Employees, AFT Local 6069 PhD Student in Integrative Biology, Oregon State University