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LETTER TO THE EDITOR | On Unions and Shared Governance

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To the editor:

I am writing as a graduate student who has been involved with the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly since spring 2013 and with Cornell Graduate Students United since spring 2014 in order to respond to some of the discourse around shared governance that has emerged in debates over graduate student unionization this semester. I am a proud member of both organizations and believe deeply in the necessity of each, and based both on my own experience and the extensive evidence from other universities at which both graduate student unions and assemblies productively coexist, I believe unequivocally in the potential for both organizations to continue to work effectively after a unionization vote. The GPSA is not at all threatened by the formal recognition of CGSU as an exclusive collective bargaining unit. More importantly, I want to respond to the idea encapsulated in Interim President Rawlings’s statement that graduate students already have a significant voice in administration, and that “We have not been able to solve every issue raised by students, but I believe we are better able to work through differences of opinion in a collegial atmosphere than in a potentially adversarial collective bargaining setting.” There are two issues to look at in evaluating this claim: first, the Board of Trustees’ decision to not raise the minimum stipend of Research Assistants to be equal to Teaching Assistants in spring 2014, and second, workers’ compensation. When the Trustees made their decision on graduate student stipends, they did so with the consultation of a handful of graduate student leaders who were forbidden from discussing the issue with other graduate students.

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR | ILR Faculty Respond to Interim President Hunter Rawlings’ Statement on Graduate Assistant Labor Union Representation

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To the editor: 

In his “statement on graduate assistant labor union representation” (October 27), Interim President Hunter Rawlings cites the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR School) as being “the leader in the field of labor education.” We write here as faculty of the ILR School, drawing on our expertise and experience in the field of labor law, labor relations and labor rights. We agree with President Rawlings that it is essential that the University respect the graduate assistants’ choice of whether they wish to be represented by a union. We also agree that it is important that graduate assistants have access to information relevant to making their choice. Unfortunately, however, President Rawlings’ statement presents a negative view of unionization based on speculation and unsubstantiated assertions. In responding to these speculative claims, our letter seeks to provide useful information about the reality of unionization in universities.

Cornell

LETTER TO THE EDITOR | In Response to the Rawlings-Brickhouse Letters

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To the editor:

“The administration may make one formal communication to Graduate Assistants regarding the University’s position on unionization. ‘Formal communication’ shall be defined as a written document setting forth the University’s official position that is signed by the President or another senior University Officer. i. The document shall be distributed via email to the Cornell campus (one time) and posted to a public CORNELL website(s). …”

This passage is from the “Union-University Conduct Rules and Recognition Election Agreement,” the document signed last May that details the current Union-University relationship.  Interim President Hunter Rawlings was far from violating the agreement when he emailed his and the administration’s opinion last Thursday and in fact was distributing it to the entire Cornell Campus as stipulated.

Cornell

LETTER TO THE EDITOR | A Message About Interim President Hunter Rawlings

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To the Editor:

This morning, Interim President Hunter R. Rawlings abused his position as president to send an email about graduate students to the whole community in order to sway public opinion in a debate wholly concerning graduate students. His conduct is unbecoming of the Office of the President, is detrimental to the community as a whole and sets a dangerous precedent for using the Office to meddle in the internal affairs of students. I hope that the student body and especially the Presidential Search Committee understands the gravity of these issues, and selects a president who shows greater circumspection, restraint and care for the community than Rawlings did this morning. The unionization of graduate students has both positive and negative aspects. Though an undergraduate, I have talked with many graduate students who are both for and against unionization.

ILR

School of Industrial and Labor Relations Hosts Annual Union Days Conference

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The School of Industrial and Labor Relations kicked off its annual three-day Union Days this Wednesday, bringing together various union leaders to talk about this years topic, “Workers Without Borders.”
The event included a guest panel including Ben Norton, grad, of the Cornell Graduate Student Union, Alex Ivovic representing the University of Toronto Graduate Student Union, Scott Marsland of Cayuga Medical Center nurses and Patrick Quinn, Patricia Greenberg and Ruth Heller of Service Employees International Union Healthcare 1199 NE. Norton’s talk focused on his experience organizing students while in England and the difficulties international students face here at Cornell. “In England, I got involved with helping to organize people on campus to go and help protest against the British government as they increased university fees,” he said. “The experience has been very different in America. When I was in England, I was trying to get people to volunteer to get heckled by heavy-handed police.”
The labor issues in the U.S. are different than those in England, according to Norton.

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Victory on Senior Night Vaults Red to Tourney

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While celebrating Senior Night, the last regular season game of the year, with a 5-2 win over Union, the men’s hockey team also ensured that it will return to Lynah Rink once more this season for a quarterfinal matchup in the ECAC Hockey tournament. With the victory, Cornell is guaranteed a first-round bye in the tournament and no lower than the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.
On a night to recognize the eight graduating seniors on the Cornell roster, it was rising junior center Riley Nash who put on an offensive show. He racked up two goals and two assists and seemed to be at the center of most of the Red’s chances on offense.

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With Sweep, Red Locks Up First-Round Bye

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While celebrating Senior Night, the last regular season game of the year, with a 5-2 win over Union, the men’s hockey team also ensured that it will return to Lynah Rink once more this season for a quarterfinal matchup in the ECAC Hockey tournament. With the victory, Cornell is guaranteed a first-round bye in the tournament and no lower than the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.
On a night to recognize the eight graduating seniors on the Cornell (17-6-4, 12-5-3 ECAC Hockey) roster, it was sophomore center Riley Nash who put on an offensive show. He racked up two goals and two assists and seemed to be at the center of most of the Red’s chances on offense.

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Final Home Weekend Arrives for M. Icers

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Heading into its final two home games of the 2008-09 regular season, the men’s hockey team has lost three contests in a row to ECAC Hockey foes, its longest losing streak in a year. Also, the lauded Red defense gave up nine goals in two games last weekend. But the way the team is talking, one probably could not guess that it is seemingly in the middle of a late-season collapse.