GAs at Yale and Columbia are less than people?

Send President Bush and the two university presidents your message from here

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that "everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his or her interests."

But the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the United States doesn't agree. And in a recent ruling, it decided that graduate teachers at universities are not "everyone". They don't have the right to form and join unions.

Their decision reversed a four-year old ruling that did guarantee such rights. It is part and parcel of a much broader attack on workers' rights being carried out by the Bush administration.

The NLRB decision affects graduate teachers at all universities in the USA, including the ones at the school President George W. Bush himself attended -- Yale. Ironically, teachers at that university, together with their colleagues at Columbia University, have decided to challenge the government ruling in the most dramatic way possible: with a joint strike at both schools next week.

Their union, which is affiliated to Unite HERE, has asked us to help spread the word, and to launch a global campaign of support for the striking graduate teachers.

You can send your message to the two university presidents, and to President Bush, by going here:

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/
show_campaign.cgi?c=47

Please do that today -- but don't stop there.

We need to send a loud and clear message to President Bush that workers' rights are human rights. Everyone has the right to form and join trade unions, period. No exceptions.

International pressure is particularly important, as universities like Yale have global ambitions. A flood of messages from all over the globe will have an impact.

You can do your bit by forwarding on this message to other members of your union, to colleagues at work, to students, to mailing lists you subscribe to. Spread the word!

Thanks -- and have a great weekend.
Eric Lee

and we thank you Eric Lee for bringing this to our attention