Grad workers won a massive victory in court on Monday, with Judge Carol Kuhnke denying the boss' request for an injunction. UM’s attorneys - some of the same that blocked the investigation into the Flint, MI water crisis - asked the judge for an injunction. In doing so, they joined the long and repressive history of labor injunctions and unjust judicial intimidation that reaches back to the 19th century. By proving that forcing workers back on the job through an injunction is an unwarranted abuse of the legal system, our victory is a victory for all working people in Michigan, who now know they can strike without fear of being enjoined.
Grad workers ended the week on a high note, with dancing, good food, camaraderie, and sunshine. Dozens of grads gathered outside of Palmer Commons as bargaining was taking place. Union chants rung out in three languages (English, Spanish, and French) as workers demonstrated in support of a living wage and dignified working conditions. Workers fired up a grill, screen-printed strike bandanas, and hung banners outside the building. It was a great way to cap off a successful second week of the strike. Grads were seemingly everywhere this week, with picket lines marching on the Diag, North Campus, and even at U-M's outpost in Detroit.
On Thursday, grads entered the second week of our strike with pickets across central and north campus. Meanwhile, our community continued to have our backs. In an open letter joined by 55 professors and lecturers, UM Law faculty condemned the University’s attempt to use the courts to break our strike. Professor Sanjukta Paul reminded readers that UM’s movement for an injunction is just another chapter in the long and bleak history of union busting labor injunctions. Today, these injunctions are essentially banned at the federal level and strongly disfavored as a matter of public policy in states. That the University has resorted to a tactic with such a reprehensible history shouldn’t surprise us: workers have always faced steep opposition when we demand fair wages and safe and just working conditions. We should learn from this history as well: when workers stick together, our power grows.
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!"
Hundreds of grad workers and their allies rallied in the rain this morning ahead of the court hearing. Clad in purple GEO ponchos, workers sheltered under Hatcher Library before marching to the courthouse. Grads heard speakers from the Payments for Placements campaign demanding a $20/hr minimum wage for the unpaid 900 hour internships required of Masters of Social Work students. Grad workers flooded through Nickels Arcade and onto the streets as they headed to the courthouse.