UE NEWS Updates

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Member-Run Unionism, Building Diverse Leadership Top GEB Agenda

February 6, 2024

“No one is born saying I want to be a union president,” Local 506 President Scott Slawson reminded his fellow members of UE’s General Executive Board during the board’s meeting on January 25 and 26. Throughout the two days, board members and national officers repeatedly emphasized the importance of giving UE members the skills to run their own local unions without relying on staff — and the measures that the National Union, and many locals, are taking to make that happen.

Second Cohort Graduates from Leadership and Staff Development Program

February 6, 2024

The second cohort of UE’s Leadership and Staff Development program graduated in December. At the conclusion of the year-long program, participants reviewed their goals and progress towards them and reflected on their shared experiences.

Over the course of the program, members engaged in online workshops on everything from UE’s history, structure, and core principles to how to write a grievance. Most participants also attended the Building Union Power online course, and many went to the national convention. 

UE Members March on MLK Day

February 2, 2024

Over the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, UE members in Virginia and North Carolina held marches honoring Dr. King’s fight for civil rights and workers' rights. Workers spoke about the lack of progress for workers since the 1960's, and called for the right to collective bargaining — a basic right restricted in both states.

Help UE Preserve the Solidarity Mural in Chicago

January 24, 2024

Fifty years ago, a team of artists led by John Pitman Weber and Jose Guerrero created the “Solidarity” mural in the lobby of the UE Hall in Chicago, at that time the center of a vibrant working-class neighborhood. With the neighborhood gentrifying, UE is in the process of selling the aging building — but is working hard to preserve the mural for the Chicago community and future generations.

Local 1498 Reopener Wins Improved Wages, Tuition Coverage and Health Care

December 21, 2023

UE Local 1498-Graduate Workers United won $1600 in tuition coverage and a six percent wage increase in reopener negotiations with New Mexico State University this fall. “These are important wins for us and ensure that grads will have at least one class covered and a bit more money in our pockets come spring,” said Local 1498 President Alexander Allison. Combined with the 6.8 percent wage increase won in the initial year of their first contract, graduate workers at NMSU have won a combined 12.8 percent raise since joining UE.

Cornell Grad Workers Tackle Administration’s Union-Busting, Form CGSU-UE

December 16, 2023

From November 6 to 9, graduate workers at Cornell University voted with a 96 percent majority to form a union with United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America. 1,873 grad workers voted yes, and 80 voted no; 60 percent of eligible voters voted. The results were ratified by the NLRB on November 20. Cornell Graduate Students United-UE now represents over 3,000 graduate workers in Ithaca, Geneva, and New York City.

Local 1466 Reopener Raises Wages, Aligns Future Negotiations with Other Campus Unions

December 14, 2023

The 1,600 graduate workers in United Graduate Workers-UE Local 1466 secured a six percent raise at the University of New Mexico in their recent compensation reopener negotiations with the university’s administration. This raise will go into effect at the outset of the spring 2024 semester, on top of the 10 percent raise negotiated in Local 1466’s first contract, which went into effect on December 22, 2022. Over the past year, the members of Local 1466 have raised the minimum pay for graduate workers 23.5 percent.

Green Locomotive Project Featured at Labor Communications Convention

December 14, 2023

UE organizer Ryan Calbreath spoke about the Green Locomotive Project at the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA)’s bi-annual convention at the end of November. Calbreath was part of a panel on messaging to the labor and environmental movements about climate change, hosted by ILCA Vice President Howard Kling, the Retired Director of the University of Minnesota’s Labor Education Service.

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