On Friday, graduate workers met with Penn admin for our 11th bargaining session. Over 150 grad workers packed the bargaining room to defend the rights of international grads! We presented our proposal on Protections for Immigrant and International Workers. To demonstrate the importance of this article, international grad workers gave powerful testimonies about Penn’s failure to provide basic services and adequate support.
We know that Penn admin will push back against our proposal to enshrine strong protections for international student workers, but when grad workers show up to bargaining in large numbers, we demonstrate to the university that we’re prepared to fight for the rights we deserve. We packed the bargaining room when we presented this proposal, and it’s crucial that grad workers continue to fill the bargaining room going forward. RSVP for this coming week’s session on Wednesday, March 5 from 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM.
Here’s a summary of Friday’s session:
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We presented a package proposal, which included a response to No Strike/No Lockout and our most recent proposals on Prohibition against Discrimination Abusive Conduct and Unlawful Harassment as well as Grievance and Arbitration.
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Penn admin presented three counter proposals: Job Postings, Intellectual Property, and Union Access.
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We presented our article on Protections for Immigrant and International Workers and four grad workers testified on the importance of this article.
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We responded to the University’s counters on Job Postings, Intellectual Property and Union Access.
In the face of Penn admin’s concessions to the Trump administration’s attacks on immigrants, diversity programs, and funding for higher education, grad workers know that we have to stand together to protect each other. Come to the next bargaining session and this week’s area organizing meetings to learn more about how we can win!
In Solidarity,
The GETUP-UAW Bargaining Committee
Clara Abbott
Emily Aunins
Peter Bailer
Oishi Bardhan
Kal Brown
Eli Fastow
Adina Goldstein
Sam Herrmann
Sam Layding
George Lin
Clancy Murray
Jonathan Nadraws
Izzy Navarro
Jonas Peeters
Lauren Perry
George Porter
Anne-Marie Zaccarin