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GUEST ROOM | A Call for Change in CGSU
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Joining CGSU should be a choice. If CGSU demonstrates results, grad students will join without coercion.
The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/cgsu/)
Joining CGSU should be a choice. If CGSU demonstrates results, grad students will join without coercion.
Cornell’s graduate students overwhelmingly voted to unionize and begin collective bargaining negotiations with the University.
Cornell’s graduate students voted from Nov. 6 to Nov. 8 on whether to unionize under Cornell Graduate Students United. If successful, CGSU will affiliate with the labor union United, Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America.
During Thursday’s meeting, the Student Assembly unanimously passed Resolution 21, supporting graduate student unionization, and Resolution 24, urging the University for efforts to help prevent sexual assault.
“Hey hey! Ho ho! Cornell’s greed has got to go!” could be heard from the courtyard between Uris Hall and Statler Hotel Thursday afternoon as graduate students gathered to express discontent with the University’s mental health services, particularly services for graduate students.
The six demands in the petition included an external review of Cornell Counseling and Psychological Services, gym membership reimbursement, improvement of the therapy referral process and others.
Cornell Graduate Students Union discusses new “winnable,” campaign and mental health during their Wednesday afternoon meeting, the first of the semester.
The result means CGSU will not be able to file another unionization election petition for a year — until May 25, 2019.
CGSU members reflected that while the arbitrator found that Cornell violated the National Labor Relations Act, the results of the March 2017 election will be certified as a loss for the union.
The arbitrator found that the email sent on March 26, 2017, by Senior Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Barbara Knuth contained a statement that violated the NLRA, according to the arbitrator’s award document.