CGEU 2016: Collective Action Gets the Goods!
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In 1966, a small group of graduate student workers in Madison, Wisconsin gathered to form a union; Wisconsin's TAA soon became the first graduate union to win recognition, inaugurating the grad labor movement in (Anglophone) North America. As we gather to commemorate half a century of our movement this year, it is an opportune moment to reflect on our history and future. Who are we? What have we accomplished over the past fifty years? Will the conditions of academic labor be better in 2066 than in 2016?
We have much to celebrate in the half century of struggles. As we are all aware in our struggles and everyday lives, exploitation, indebtedness and precarity in our present and future are ubiquitous conditions of academic workers under neoliberal capitalism. However, contrary to the general trend of the decline of the labor movement, academic unionism has seen continual growth, especially over the past two decades; and we have seen a wave of new organizing campaigns on multiple campuses, especially in the United States. In so many universities across the continent, a grad union has served as the indispensable line of defense for our livelihood, rights and dignity; a space for political contestation amidst the apolitical kind of professionalism prevalent in academic life; and a place for much-needed sociality in the oft-isolating environment.
From the beginning, the academic labor movement has always been deeply rooted in the conceptions of social movements and social justice, which are broader than sometimes held in unions. The Wisconsin workers in 1966 emerged from the anti-Vietnam War protests; two years later, the French union of academic lecturers became a leading force in the early phase of the May ’68 uprising. In more recent years, grad unions have continued to play a key role in larger social struggles, from the Wisconsin Capitol occupation to Québec's "Maple Spring". Even as the use of strikes has declined among unions, the grad labor movement has not hesitated to use the only real source of power we have as workers; the recent strikes at Toronto, York, Simon Fraser, Oregon and CUNY, among others, have inspired us all. Furthermore, numerous grad unions have made pioneering contributions within the labor movement in prioritizing the demands of LGBTQ workers, campaigning to democratize their own union, and promoting international solidarity with oppressed peoples.
On the other hand, we have constantly faced skepticism over our very status as workers. Struggling against misrecognition of our labor, in the eyes of the public, legal system or even ourselves, has often been a central part of our unionization process; and the alleged non-labor status of our labor is still the basis to deny recognition of the most basic of union rights in numerous states and the private sector in the United States. Unlike for much of the labor movement, the simple truth that #WeAreWorkers becomes a political statement for us.
As workers in a capitalist society, we all share common interests and struggles; but as grad workers, we particularly hold so much in common with each other, in our experiences of organizing and struggle in the academic sector. The CGEU offers an invaluable opportunity for us as grad workers to come together and build comradeship, when we are otherwise separated into different international unions. In that spirit, we invite you to Los Angeles this summer for four days of reflection, strategizing and celebration of the history and future of our movement. As the academic labor movement expands and gains in strength, while political situations become increasingly volatile and the attacks on the working-class intensify, now is the time to think boldly while broadening and deepening the bonds of solidarity among us academic workers. Comrades, join us and we have a world to win!
In 1966, a small group of graduate student workers in Madison, Wisconsin gathered to form a union; Wisconsin's TAA soon became the first graduate union to win recognition, inaugurating the grad labor movement in (Anglophone) North America. As we gather to commemorate half a century of our movement this year, it is an opportune moment to reflect on our history and future. Who are we? What have we accomplished over the past fifty years? Will the conditions of academic labor be better in 2066 than in 2016?
We have much to celebrate in the half century of struggles. As we are all aware in our struggles and everyday lives, exploitation, indebtedness and precarity in our present and future are ubiquitous conditions of academic workers under neoliberal capitalism. However, contrary to the general trend of the decline of the labor movement, academic unionism has seen continual growth, especially over the past two decades; and we have seen a wave of new organizing campaigns on multiple campuses, especially in the United States. In so many universities across the continent, a grad union has served as the indispensable line of defense for our livelihood, rights and dignity; a space for political contestation amidst the apolitical kind of professionalism prevalent in academic life; and a place for much-needed sociality in the oft-isolating environment.
From the beginning, the academic labor movement has always been deeply rooted in the conceptions of social movements and social justice, which are broader than sometimes held in unions. The Wisconsin workers in 1966 emerged from the anti-Vietnam War protests; two years later, the French union of academic lecturers became a leading force in the early phase of the May ’68 uprising. In more recent years, grad unions have continued to play a key role in larger social struggles, from the Wisconsin Capitol occupation to Québec's "Maple Spring". Even as the use of strikes has declined among unions, the grad labor movement has not hesitated to use the only real source of power we have as workers; the recent strikes at Toronto, York, Simon Fraser, Oregon and CUNY, among others, have inspired us all. Furthermore, numerous grad unions have made pioneering contributions within the labor movement in prioritizing the demands of LGBTQ workers, campaigning to democratize their own union, and promoting international solidarity with oppressed peoples.
On the other hand, we have constantly faced skepticism over our very status as workers. Struggling against misrecognition of our labor, in the eyes of the public, legal system or even ourselves, has often been a central part of our unionization process; and the alleged non-labor status of our labor is still the basis to deny recognition of the most basic of union rights in numerous states and the private sector in the United States. Unlike for much of the labor movement, the simple truth that #WeAreWorkers becomes a political statement for us.
As workers in a capitalist society, we all share common interests and struggles; but as grad workers, we particularly hold so much in common with each other, in our experiences of organizing and struggle in the academic sector. The CGEU offers an invaluable opportunity for us as grad workers to come together and build comradeship, when we are otherwise separated into different international unions. In that spirit, we invite you to Los Angeles this summer for four days of reflection, strategizing and celebration of the history and future of our movement. As the academic labor movement expands and gains in strength, while political situations become increasingly volatile and the attacks on the working-class intensify, now is the time to think boldly while broadening and deepening the bonds of solidarity among us academic workers. Comrades, join us and we have a world to win!