Local 33-UNITE HERE
Graduate Employees and Students Organization (Local 33—UNITE HERE)
Founded1990
Location
AffiliationsUNITE HERE
WebsiteLocal 33 Website

Local 33–UNITE HERE, formerly the Graduate Employees and Students Organization (“GESO–UNITE HERE”), is a union of graduate student teachers and researchers at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Local 33 is affiliated with the international union UNITE HERE, which also represents Yale University's service, maintenance, clerical, and technical workers. After more than three decades of organizing, Yale graduate workers submitted over 3,000 signed union authorization cards to the Hartford, Connecticut, office of the National Labor Relations Board,[1] or NLRB, representing the greatest number of graduate workers who have ever supported unionizing. On January 9, 2023, Yale graduate workers won their union, with 1,860 members voting in favor and 179 voting against, a 10.4 to 1 ratio in favor of unionization.[2] The proposed worker bargaining unit of about 4,000 graduate and professional school workers[3] was the second largest election filing in the country in 2022.[4]

Local 33 has received support from many prominent academics, including Corey Robin,[5] Michael Denning,[6] David Graeber,[7] and Michael Bérubé,[8] and elected officials, including Governor Dannel Malloy, Senators Richard Blumenthal[9] and Chris Murphy,[10] New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, US Senator Bernie Sanders, and US Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.

History

In 2014, Local 33 took its campaign public at a rally on October 21, unveiling a petition with the photographs of over 1000 graduate students calling on Yale to negotiate the terms of a neutral election.[11] Local 33 is asking Yale to address four main issues: fairness in teaching and funding; mental healthcare for graduate students; racial and gender equity; and affordable childcare.[12]

On August 29, 2016, following the NLRB's decision in Columbia, Local 33 members in 10 academic departments filed election petitions with the NLRB.[13]

On January 25, 2017, the Regional Director for Region 1 of the National Labor Relations Board ordered union elections for graduate teachers in the Departments of East Asian Languages and Literatures, English, Geology and Geophysics, History, History of Art, Math, Physics, Political Science, and Sociology.[14]

Activities

In 2012, GESO hosted a conference on academic labor entitled, "The Changing University: An Interdisciplinary Symposium".[15] In 2014, GESO re-emerged with two "majority petition" rallies. The first, held on April 30, presented a petition to the Yale administration with over 1000 signatures of graduate students.[16] The second, on October 21, 2014, presented a petition with over 1000 photographs of graduate students paired with allies from the local unions, the community, and elected officials, including Governor Dannel Malloy, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, and US Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.[17] In February 2015, GESO released a report on the expansion of Yale College, entitled "Teaching in a Growing Yale: Critical Questions."[18] GESO presented a petition with over 1100 signatures to the university in May 2015.[12] The petition calls on Yale to "begin contract negotiations on issues of immediate concern including funding security, racial and gender equity, and mental health care."[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Roy, Yash (2022-10-25). "Local 33 triggers unionization process". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
  2. ↑ Salovey, Peter (2023-01-09). "Graduate Student Union Election Results". Yale University - Office of the President. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  3. ↑ Vaz, Megan (2023-01-30). "Union Yes: Local 33's three-decade road to recognition". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  4. ↑ Ospina, Laura (1 September 2023). "After more than three decades of organizing, Yale's graduate student union won recognition last January". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Newman, Kathy M. (December 4, 2011). "FORUM: 20 years after GESO strike, many of goals accomplished". New Haven Register. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  6. ↑ "GESO: Why a Graduate Student Union?". Archived from the original on 2015-05-03. Retrieved 2015-05-14.
  7. ↑ "Take It from the Top | Village Voice". Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-14.
  8. ↑ "Pistols for Two: Michael Bérubé vs. Chris Lehmann". The Baffler. January 14, 2013. Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Fiery rhetoric at founding convention for new union of Yale grad students". Archived from the original on 2017-01-26. Retrieved 2017-02-04.
  10. ↑ "Hundreds March For GESO | New Haven Independent". www.newhavenindependent.org. October 16, 2015. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Inspired By NYU, GESO Reemerges In Force | New Haven Independent". www.newhavenindependent.org. October 22, 2014. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  12. 1 2 Chen, Michelle (May 6, 2015). "Could Yale Graduate Students Be the Next to Unionize?". Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020 – via www.thenation.com.
  13. ↑ Douglas-Gabriel, Danielle. "Yale graduate students look to unionize after labor board ruling". Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2016-09-15 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  14. ↑ "Yale University graduate students in 9 departments given right to hold union elections". Archived from the original on 2017-01-26. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
  15. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-05-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ↑ "What Do Yale Grad Students Want? A Union". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 2017-11-05. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  17. ↑ "Malloy fires up Yale grad students fighting to unionize". New Haven Register. October 22, 2014. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  18. 1 2 "Local 33 UNITE HERE – The union of graduate employees at Yale". Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
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