January 18, 2022
This is Tori Cassady, I’m a Grad Student Worker performing research in Earth Sciences and I am currently funded through a fellowship. My work contributes to USC’s research mission through advancing our understanding of geobiology. Hundreds of GSWs funded through fellowships, like myself, have signed union authorization cards indicating that we would like to form our union (GSWOC-UAW) and collectively bargain with USC administration. Overall, a supermajority of all GSWs (including RAs, TAs, ALs, and Fellows) support forming a union.
However, USC administration opposes the formation of our union, and in fact is arguing that nobody who is on a Fellowship is working.
The National Labor Relations Board has scheduled a hearing set to begin today (Wednesday, January 18th) to resolve USC’s challenge. NLRB hearings are open to the public – if you are interested in watching the hearing please fill out this form to receive information about exactly when the hearing will take place and how you can tune in (the hearing will be over Zoom).
For me, USC’s legal challenges make forming a union even more important. With a union, we can bargain to ensure that we are respected and fairly compensated for the long-hours we work on teaching and research. Once USC’s challenges to our union are resolved, we will have the opportunity to vote to form a union – and I strongly encourage everyone to join me in voting “yes”.
Upcoming Events!
- GSWOC-UAW Town Hall – Wednesday, Jan 25 at 4:00 pm via Zoom. RSVP Here to receive a link. At this Town Hall, we’ll discuss the NLRB hearing, what to expect next, and have plenty of time for questions and discussion about forming a union.
- HSC GSWOC-UAW Coffee Hour – Thursday, Jan 26 at 12:00 pm at Broad Lawn (in front of BCC, or the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine). Come join for Coffee and Donuts! This will also be a good place to ask questions and talk about how we can work together to build our union. RSVP Here
As always, if you have any questions or just want to learn more, please do not hesitate to simply respond to this email. You can also fill out this short survey to get more involved, follow GSWOC-UAW on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or check out gswoc-usc.org.
In solidarity,
Tori Cassady
Grad Student Worker, Earth Science