Getting Involved In Your Union

We have in our local a dynamic of the union being “of, by, and for” graduate assistants. No one tells us what to do – we decide it ourselves. From collective bargaining of a contract to political action to general business of our organization, this union is run for graduate assistants. But for that “of, by, and for” dynamic to be real – and for our direction-setting and decision-making to play out “for” graduate student workers – we as members must also be the “of” and “by” parts.

That means being involved in your union. Whether it’s getting involved in organizing fellow grad student workers, like through our Orientation Organizing Campaign, or taking on a role as a department leader, or really anything else, being engaged in the union and being involved in it is critical. The university works because we do; our union works too because we do.

So your union needs you. Your union needs you to be involved. Never been involved with your union or in any kind of organization? No problem. Our current cadre of activists and leaders as well as our very talented (and experienced) staff will show you the ropes, educate and teach you, and mentor you so that your can be involved in a meaningful way that works for you. Are you a hardcore activist that needs an organizational home to advance the work you do? Well, union activism is for you too. You can plug in and take on a leadership role with the infrastructure we have built and are building today.

The most important thing is for you to get involved. It’s easy to do it. Just take a moment to fill out this convenient online form, and one of our current activists or staff-persons will be in touch with you. From there, we’ll work with you to get you plugged in to the union. So if you have a couple of hours a week or are looking for a significant time diversion from your dissertation – or anything in between – there’s a way for you to be involved. And you definitely should be.

Our union is of, by, and for grad student workers. Let’s all play our part in making our union work.