We Won Our Union!
We Are GETUP-UAW
We are graduate student teaching and research employees at the University of Pennsylvania forming a union to improve our working conditions at Penn and to strengthen our collective voice as teaching and research assistants locally and nationally. Check out our website to learn more and get involved.
“As an international student, the last few years have exemplified how precarious our position can be in a foreign country. It was exhausting and near-impossible to juggle housing, funding and visa/immigration uncertainties all at the same time. Knowing that a union will have my back is the only way I can give a hundred percent to the academic demands of grad school!”
“Whether you have issues in the workplace or not, we work in a system where student workers have very little power. I support a union so we can advocate for more fair treatment of graduate students and more mechanisms by which important issues can be addressed.”
“I constantly worry about my finances and all of the debt I’ve accumulated since coming to Penn. This, as well as working 7 days a week, makes it extremely hard to visit family across the country which can become isolating and lonely. A union will ensure fair pay, as well as (hopefully) relieve the financial burden of many grad student workers, like myself. In solidarity!“
“My undergrad institution had a very strong union and now I feel vulnerable without one. While I have good working conditions and decent benefits, I know that is not the case for all students, and I know the benefits I do have are all subjective to change at the university’s whim. A union would help make conditions and benefits better and more equitable for all students, and a contract would also protect against changes to these conditions.”