Rochester Ph.D. student workers staged a month-long strike demanding a private unionization election to avoid the National Labor Relations Board. Organizers paused the strike after May 16 commencement protests and, with the fall semester starting, have no plans to resume it. Organizers said they did not achieve a fair election process but remain committed to union support and intend to continue pursuing a fair election. The dispute followed earlier talks in which both sides were amenable to a private election but shifted after federal changes to the NLRB amid the Trump administration's return. About 38 percent of graduate student workers are unionized nationally.
Workers walked off the job, demanding that the university host a private unionization election so they could vote and win recognition of the union-all without having to go through the Trump-era National Labor Relations Board. But after workers protested during the May 16 commencement ceremony, GLU representatives told them that organizing committee members had voted unanimously to "pause" the strike. And, with fall semester classes starting Monday, the organizers say they have no plans to rekindle it.
"We didn't achieve what we wanted, which was them giving us a fair process for an election," said Katie Gregory, a seventh-year environmental sciences Ph.D. worker. But, she said, "none of us consider the fight here to be over in terms of support for a union." George Elkind, a fourth-year visual and cultural studies Ph.D. worker, said, "We intend to continue fighting for a fair election process."
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