UE in the News

U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury is supporting a union of University of New Mexico graduate student workers in its demand that the university initiate collective bargaining talks with the organization.

In a statement read by a spokesperson at the conference, the New Mexico Democrat wrote, “I’m proud to stand in solidarity with UNM graduate workers in their work to build a brighter future for the entire UNM community, and I look forward to a fair bargaining process that recognizes the vital contributions of graduate workers to teaching and research at New Mexico’s flagship university.”

Sara Worland, a teaching assistant at UNM, said “I believe that negotiating and bargaining is going to make UNM a better place overall for undergraduates, graduates, faculty, everyone involved here. I love UNM, so that’s really my hope, is to make it an even better place through this process.”

Israel Chàvez, an attorney and alum of both UNM and UNM Law school said he was ashamed of the university's unwillingness to come to the bargaining table.

“Union busting is wrong and it wastes dollars, university dollars, our tax dollars and your tuition dollars to try and undermine workers, to try and undermine the vision of protecting workers is wrong. And I want to see the (UNM) president, I want to see the administration, the provost come to the table. Because wasting dollars in this way is just that, wasting dollars. They should be focused on negotiating, they should be focused on bargaining, and they should do it with the same energy that they put into trying to bust this union.”

The newly formed Virginia Beach Workers Union said they want their voices heard and the power to negotiate with the city when it comes to issues in the workplace.

"We want to ensure that our city workers are being treated fairly. That's what this is about. It's about fairness," said Latasha Holloway, director of the Virginia Beach Coalition.

"We’re not asking to be rich, but we’re asking to be treated fairly," said one city worker during the rally.

“We are occupying Scholes Hall today for this work and to demonstrate the value of our labor,” said Hally Bert, a grad worker in the Community and Regional Planning program and a union leader. “The university continues to embarrass itself by challenging the state labor board rulings and denying our value as workers as human beings.”

Grad workers here have been trying to certify a union for more than a year in order to fight for fair wages and health care. The state labor board has repeatedly ruled in their favor and ordered UNM to conduct a card check that would likely certify the union.

On Monday night, Refresco workers along with immigrant rights group Wind of the Spirit and community residents held signs outside the factory and called on the company to start negotiations with their union.

Cesar Moreira, one of the employees and a union organizer, joined colleagues at the rally following his evening shift. Moreira said they braved the cold because Refresco "continues to put excuses" to begin negotiations and recognize their union. 

"This was a demonstration to put pressure on the company to sit down at the table with us," said Moreira in Spanish. "The lawyers are not letting us have a dialogue with Refresco and reach an agreement with them. We're not asking for 100% or 80% of the company's earnings, we're asking for basic things." 

“I love my class and I love teaching, but every single time I run into a psychiatric emergency, I have to ask myself, how much is my life worth?” she said, while sharing her experience during a forum on graduate student wellness on Nov. 11. 

The forum was part of a series of events organized by the NMSU Graduate Workers United to highlight three main issues they are organizing around: no tuition remission, inadequate or no health care and low wages. They also want better grievance procedures.

A rally on Tuesday will be their latest effort to draw attention to their fight.

Scott Slawson, president of Local 506 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America at Wabtec's Erie plant, said the union has been aware of the agreement for some time.

What happened on Monday, he said, was "They got the ink dry on the paper."

Recently, he said, the company has called about 80 union members back to work.