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Negotiation Bulletin #28: Grads Occupy Ruthven for Hot Labor Summer
Striking grad workers celebrated an incredible week of victories with a bash – hosting a party outside the Ruthven administration building and occupying the building itself for much of the day. It was an incredible scene: students and workers transformed the usually sterile plaza next to the Central Campus Transit Centre into a summer carnival,…
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Negotiation Bulletin #27: Grads Picket as Part of Trans Day of Rage
On Day 15 of our strike, the energy and enthusiasm of grad workers shows no signs of letting up. Pickets once again marched and chanted across central campus and Thursday marked the strike’s first trans rage picket. Trans and queer workers came together to, in the words of one grad, “scream at the universe, to…
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Negotiation Bulletin #26: Over 99% Vote to Extend Strike at GMM
Click here for a PDF version of this bulletin Wednesday was another joyful day of picketing on central and north campuses. In pickets organized by department, grads in Political Science, English, Classics, History, Comparative Literature, Earth and Environmental Sciences, SEAS, Physics, Statistics, Astronomy, Anthropology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Math, American Culture, and History of Art…
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Negotiation Bulletin #25: Out of the Courtroom, Into the Streets
In the wake of our court victory, grads hit the picket lines with renewed energy and conviction on Tuesday. Pickets continued across central and north campus, and crafty grads held a second knit in at Haven Hall. The mood was both victorious and determined. As Kelsie, a Middle East Studies grad, put it, “the denial…
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Negotiation Bulletin #24: Injunction Denied! Grads Win Big in Court
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…
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Negotiation Bulletin #23: Joyous Picket Lines Cap Off Second Week
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…
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Negotiation Bulletin #22: Striking Works: HR Moves on Harassment
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…
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Negotiation Bulletin #21: 93% of Grad Workers Vote to Extend Strike
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…
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Negotiation Bulletin #20: Victory: Judge Denies UM’s Restraining Order
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…
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Negotiation Bulletin #19: Faculty Rally to Support Grad Workers
Hundreds of grad workers and allies turned out on Monday morning to kick off a second week on strike. Carrying signs that read ‘faculty support student workers,’ the group marched in solidarity from the Diag to Ruthven, then on to Rackham, showing the University that all workers on this campus stand together. Meanwhile, grad workers…
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Negotiation Bulletin #18: On the Lines & at the Table, Grads Fight On
On Friday, grad workers again showed up in force to demand a contract that protects all workers. Picketing across central campus, grad workers were undeterred by bad weather and university intimidation. GEO member and anthropology grad Irene said, ‘Filing for an injunction day one of the strike is a disappointing escalation, but we were always…
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Negotiation Bulletin #17: Grads on North Campus Unfazed by Injunction
Hundreds of grads rallied on North Campus today, continuing the fight for dignity and affordability for each and every worker. Facing indifference and intimidation from the University, grads remained united. The conditions North Campus grads face are a stark reminder of urgency of our demands. For example, grads in the School of Music Theatre and…
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Negotiation Bulletin #13: Grad Workers Back from Break with a Bang
On March 7, nearly 100 grads and undergrad allies took the streets during President Ono’s inauguration to protest the University’s lack of serious counters. The action came hot on the heels of grads filing Unfair Labor Practice charges against the University for bargaining in bad faith. This pattern continued on Friday, as HR called a…
