This was a disappointing election in many ways, from the candidates to the outcome. Some of us may remember that our fight to unionize was temporarily obstructed by Northeastern hiding behind the 2016 Trump administration’s weak NLRB (National Labor Relations Board). The Bargaining and Organizing Committees would like to reassure everyone that we are still empowered to win a strong contract. The progress that we’ve made so far is a direct result of our collective actions and hard work. We are already fully certified and our union is not at immediate risk of decertification from the incoming Trump administration. But now more than ever, we need to organize increased pressure on Northeastern for a fair contract that protects our nearly 3,000 members from current and future oppressive federal policies. Our power lies in our community, our labor, and our willingness to participate in collective actions. It does not depend solely on federal politics. When we fight, we win.
Even without a ratified contract, the union has already directly and indirectly improved the working conditions for many grads. This week, Khoury Dean Beth Mynatt stated that she orchestrated the raise to $50k for CS PhDs specifically as a result of our unionization. The union is leveraging our access to the administration to help grads navigate abusive advisors. Additionally, the administration’s counter offers are starting to move towards meeting our needs. The Bargaining Committee is already fighting for contract language that provides extra protections in anticipation of a more hostile government, such as:
- Making Northeastern into a sanctuary campus for international workers
- Not requiring us to travel to places that are not safe for us
- Guidelines to protect us from current and future public health emergencies
- Better protections for our marginalized communities
- Enshrining our free speech rights in our classrooms and research
- Increased access to health and gender-affirming care
- Additional funds for emergency situations
This union, which we started organizing in 2015, survived the Trump presidency before and we will continue to do so. Whether it was his “Muslim ban” executive order in 2017, his attempts at stripping grad workers of our right to a union, his grad tax for tuition waivers, or his efforts to gut Title IX protections. At every one of those moments we were there to fight against his administration’s policies, to limit the harm as much as we could, and to protect each other. We didn’t win every battle, but we won many and moved the needle where it was possible.
Our union gives us the best chance to protect one another, push back against harmful policies, and continue to make gains. By standing together, we can hold Northeastern accountable and pressure the administration to do the right thing. Let us distill our despair, our anger, and our disappointment into creating real, positive changes to our material conditions, right now, together. If you want to use your voice to continue fighting for the rights and protections we deserve, join the Slack, which will have a link to the Organizing Committee meeting tonight at 6-7PM over Zoom.
Solidarity Forever,
The GENU-UAW Bargaining and Organizing Committees