The strike at New York University is entering its second week. Local 2110 of the UAW represents graduate teaching assistants at the university, who organized a union to protest the fact that teaching assistants increasingly handle a huge workload of teaching, preparing coursework and grading papers and exams. The union won recognition from the university and a contract in 2002. It was the first of its kind, as the Clinton-appointed National Labor Relations Board had only recently ruled that graduate teaching fellows are “workers” under the law, entitled to protections under the law as a union.
As swiftly as those new rights were granted by the Clinton Board, they were taken away by the Bush Board, who ruled that teaching fellows are not “workers,” do not have a right to form a union and are not entitled to protection under the law from retaliation and discrimination. NYU, always looking to make and save money, simply decided to ignore its staff union and rebuff efforts to negotiate a successor contract.
Now, without a contract, and with no rights under the law, the graduate teaching fellows at NYU are on strike. They are asking tenured faculty to issue statements in support of the union, and to hold their classes off campus. They are asking students, parents, alumni and the public to call on NYU President John Sexton to recognize and negotiate with the union.
The union has daily noontime rallies and roving picket lines. I saw a very energetic picket line outside the Bobst library this evening. Just head to Washington Square Park, follow the noise and join in.