HIGHER EDUCATION
Grad researchers at UB vote on joining a
union
By STEPHEN WATSON
News Staff Reporter
5/9/2003
GSEU COMMANDS BUFFALO NEWS FRONT PAGE METRO
SECTION
HIGHER EDUCATION
UB research assistants have right to join a
union
By STEPHEN WATSON
News Staff Reporter
4/15/2003
BUFFALO SPECTRUM
ARTICLE ON
GSEU RA CAMPAIGN
Campus News - APRIL 18th, 2003
Research Assistants Granted Right to
Unionize
GEORGE ZORNICK - Asst. Campus News
Editor
TRIUMPHANT BUFFALO RA’s
WIN RIGHT TO
VOTE
The
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a “Decision and Direction
To Election” for Graduate Research Workers at the University at Buffalo.
The decision that was issued by the acting NLRB
Director, Charles Donner, literately instructs the
Research Foundation to comply with the NLRB to conduct an election for
union recognition within the next 25 days. Bob Lilja,
1104 Local President, credits the collaboration of the Operator
Services and Education Divisions with the success of these organizing
efforts that were spearheaded by the campaign's Lead Organizer, Chad
Pearson. Lilja said, “It is great news. It is really
fantastic. The decision is all we need to proceed and let these
workers begin to represent themselves.”
When asked
what this decision means, Chad Pearson explained, “The decision
of the Regional Director assures our place in labor history.
Graduate student organizing campaigns throughout the US will now rely on
the case law that we have created, just as we relied on the work of the
NYU graduate student organizing drive.” Doctoral student in
English and Head of GSEU and Director of Organizing for CWA Local
1104 Kathleen Sims, said “GSEU bargaining won health care for research
workers when they were without any health care at all, now it is time for
research workers to vote for the opportunity to win the recognition
necessary to gain contractual protections and parity where there is
currently none”.
Both sides must now agree on a date to hold the
election and the employer must provide a list of workers to the NLRB who
will conduct the elections
The Business Agent Scott
Oldenburg, a doctoral student at UB expressed the excitement and
enthusiasm of workers at the University at Albany saying, “We have
all been antsy about getting the decision. The opportunity to vote
and to think of what having a union will mean for us is tremendous!
To think that a year ago we had not one elected leader on this
campus. What we have been able to do at this campus in one year is
stunning.”
Chief Steward and Lead Organizer Chad Pearson
pondered the significance that having the same union representation that
TA’s and GA’s already have “This is really exciting. I was really
happy to find out about the decision. We realize that to make change
we must work together. When we stand together we won’t be
defeated. Finally having a union -- that’ll really be
great.”
The Research Assistant’s Attorney, Mark Pearce of
Creighton, Pearce & Johnson encapsulated the hearing: “the record was
clearly established and confirmed by the Regional Director showing in no
uncertain terms that these workers have a right to vote and should be
accorded their right to vote as quickly as possible.”
For more
details, call Chad Pearson at (518) 225-6393 or email him at cpearson@cwa1104.com.
