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Stop NYU's Attack on Workers and Their Union
The Bush-appointed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) denied tens of thousands of graduate employees at private universities important federal protections associated with forming a union and collective bargaining. The board’s decision overturned unanimous, bi-partisan precedent and mistreats graduate employees—full-fledged workers who want full-fledged rights.
Now New York University is taking advantage of this partisan decision to deny its graduate employees their basic right to have a union and bargain collectively.
NYU graduate employees and their union, the United Auto Workers, negotiated important improvements for campus workers, including a dramatic raise in stipends, health care benefits and overtime pay.
But now NYU wants to deny these workers the ability to bargain collectively to improve their working conditions.
Well-established collective bargaining relationships at universities from coast to coast demonstrate that allowing graduate employees to bargain does no harm to academic quality or relationships.
Take action right now and tell the NYU Administration to allow graduate workers the freedom to have a union and bargain collectively.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Stop Your Attack on NYU Workers and Their Union
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I strongly urge you to reconsider the contents of a recent memorandum issued by New York University concerning the collective bargaining rights of university employees.
Campus workers have demonstrated their desire to have a union with the United Auto Workers and worked cooperatively for more than three years with the university to improve workplace conditions.
It is simply unacceptable for NYU to deny its employees basic workplace protections because of a National Labor Relations Board decision that overturned precedent. It's wrong, and it sends the wrong message to other universities across this country.
The recent NLRB decision is one of many blatantly partisan attempts by the Bush-appointed National Labor Relations Board to restrict the rights of working people-including temporary employees and workers with disabilities as well as graduate employees.
Discontinuing your established relationship with NYU's graduate workers' union once their current contract expires is unconscionable behavior, especially at one of the nation's most respected institutions of higher learning.
The freedom to have a union is a basic human right guaranteed by the United Nations 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized by the U.S. government 70 years ago in the National Labor Relations Act. Well-established collective bargaining relationships at universities from coast to coast demonstrate that allowing graduate employees to bargain for a decent life does no harm to academic quality or relationships.
NYU must immediately honor the decision of its workers and continue to work collaboratively with graduate employees to reach a mutually acceptable collective bargaining agreement.
Sincerely,
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