U.S. Graduate Students’ Fight to Unionize
“Graduate workers at the University of Chicago [were] on strike [last] week. They’re demanding union recognition from an administration that is relying on a Trump-appointed labor board’s hostility to workers to deny graduate workers’ organizing rights.”
Jacobin, June 4, 2019: “‘Worker power is a threat to the way the university is run,’” by Sean Duffy
Graduate students exploited for ‘cheap labour’
“Since the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled in favor of Columbia University graduate students in 2016, reversing a 2004 Brown University decision and granting graduate students at private colleges bargaining rights, graduate students at schools from Harvard to Fordham to Georgetown have taken up unionization efforts. College courses used to be taught almost exclusively by tenure-track and tenured professors, but as universities have cut costs and corporatized, they are relying more and more on adjuncts and graduate students. ... Graduate students around the country, who on average make $33,000 a year, feel like the universities aren’t fairly compensating them for the vital work they do.”
NBC News, June 8, 2019: “The latest campus battle: Graduate students are fighting to unionize,” by Ben Kesslen
For and Against Grad Student Unions
Chicago Tribune, June 4, 2019: 'We wanted a union then, and we deserved a union then': University of Chicago grad student workers go on strike,” by Dawn Rhodes
Bloomberg Opinion, June 12, 2019: “Keep Unions Out of Grad School: Universities and graduate students do not have a typical employer-employee relationship,” by Tyler Cowen
Victory at the University of California
“On March 22, leaders at the University of California issued a letter stating that they have reached an agreement to recognize a union of academic researchers at their campuses. They have agreed on which categories of employees would qualify for the union, including professional researchers who do not hold academic appointments. The union came together as Academic Researchers United (ARU), in association with the United Auto Workers (UAW). ... Academic researchers (AR) include staff with the titles of project scientist, specialist, professional researcher, and coordinator of public programs.”
The Scientist, April 5, 2019: “Academic researchers at the University of California form a union,” by Chia-Yi Hou
Academic Researchers United website
