On Wednesday, members voted overwhelmingly to continue striking until we get real movement from HR. Gathered in Angell Auditorium and on zoom, grads agreed: we have the power to win a fair contract if we stick together. Ariana, a grad in Environmental Health Sciences said, “the first week of this strike showed that we have numbers and we have power. Members voted to continue to strike because we know we have what it takes to win. We will continue to fight and our power is going to continue to build.” Grads are going into the second week of our strike with open eyes. We know that the university will try to intimidate and threaten us. We also know that what we are fighting for is too important to back down. Nico, a social work grad, reminded the room of what is at stake: "People are selling blood to pay rent. People can’t pay for childcare. People are denied life saving healthcare. They are rationing their medicine and their food to survive. This is not a question of whether or not we want to strike. We need to strike. When we fight, we win!"