Update on Strike Vote and End-of-Semester Plans

December 8, 2014December 16, 2014 GSOC-UAW

Thank you to everyone who has voted in the strike authorization vote. If you have not voted yet, please feel free to do so with the electronic ballot that has gone out in several GSOC emails in the last few days. If you did not receive that message, you can also email gsocuaw@gmail.com for an electronic ballot or to arrange for a paper one. Strike authorization voting has been extended until December 11 for a couple reasons:

Maximum Participation. The strike vote has been extremely successful so far and we want to continue to build on the momentum of our organizing. We want as many members as possible to weigh in on this serious decision. We can do even better, have even more critical conversations with colleagues, and organize even more effectively with an additional 8 days. It is critical that NYU see how many of us are concerned at their refusal to bargain this semester and are ready to take action if necessary.

Mediation has been productive. Mediation thus far has been productive and we want to take any steps to have the best contract possible as soon as possible. Thus we have shifted timelines for our strike voting and are evaluating our tentative timeline for a strike action. This allows us to keep the voting open beyond our initial deadline while still remaining flexible at this critical time of the year. Our next mediation session with Martin Scheinman is scheduled for Dec 18.

We have been escalating. The vote has been successful so far in building significant support and power; extending the vote enables us to maximize this as a good vote is, in and of itself a show of substantial power. Our concomitant escalation action plan so far has also been working to expand our base, build cross-departmental connections, demonstrate support, and garner exposure. Alongside diligent departmental organizing, we have held several energizing public actions and are continuing to build ground-up pressure on the administration.

We will continue to have discussions with you in the coming weeks as we move forward with mediation and continue to mobilize. It’s important to all of us that both these processes are as transparent and democratic as possible, so please ask questions, have conversations, and attend our biweekly meetings (next one is Dec 17 at 3pm at the Silver Lounge). If you haven’t heard from your department’s GSOC organizer yet and want to, please email us.

Our goal remains to win a fair contract for all graduate student workers, and with your continued support we believe we can get there.

Join our strike authorization vote count this Thursday, Dec 11 at 7pm in the Silver Lounge, Room 120. And catch up on work with your colleagues and fellow grad students at Bobst Library on Dec 12 at 12pm.

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