Look for the Union Label - from Yale!?

The Chronicle article By DAVID GLENN
Look for the Union Label
Veterans of Yale's graduate-student strikes are forging their experiences into scholarship

This is an interesting examination of the resulting activism that has resulted from the on-going years of organizing a union at Yale, and the attempts to get the university to recognize the union.

There have been a number of books that have now been written by the earlier activists which are beginning to influence the national fabric from beyond the ivory towers of Yale.

Perhaps these writers will be capable of influencing the issues at a the tops of the towers of Yale, although currently at a very slow pace. Watch for longer term results.

This raises the issue of how have the strike actions of the same types of groups at other universities influenced the concept of unionized TAs, RAs, and GAs. At York University there have been a few strikes by this group in the past [some were long, full shut the doors strikes]. Some of the activists from this group have been elevated into the faculty [a negotiated procedural matter and in the Collective Agreement]. In discussion with this group [now in the faculty union] one will find similar issues and impressions to the ones discussed in the linked article. At York University the groups that Yale is failing to recognize as a bargaining agent have been certified as a union. They are in fact a sister local to our own. This does not say that both union groups totally agree upon the manner in which labour relations should be conducted. There are some strong similarities as we are both affiliated to the same national union and attend joint meetings within CUPE at a variety of levels. The ages of the relative memberships, of the collective agreements, and purpose of the work have lead to very different results in collective bargaining.