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CGEU 2004
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The 13th Annual Conference of the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions
July 22 - 25, 2004
Columbia University, New York City

download the CGEU resolution against the NLRB Brown Decision

see photos of our picket line at the regional office of the NLRB
CGEU 2004 was hosted by GSEU at Columbia and GESO at Yale
The 13th Annual Coalition of Graduate Employees (CGEU) Conference was an unprecedented showing of solidarity amongst graduate employees. As one participant aptly remarked, building real, lasting solidarity is extremely difficult --in organizing it's always the goal but less often the outcome. We thank all of you for proving that teaching and research assistants can stand together, united by a vision of humanity, diversity, and equal opportunity in our workplaces. Our special thanks to the workshop presenters, the plenary speakers, GESO at Yale, the AFL-CIO, and, especially to George Bush's National Labor Relations Board for making one thing crystal clear: that there is a fight to be waged, one that will demand all of the strength and determination which we have found in each other at the conference.

By early Friday morning 200 activists --from Florida, Texas, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Ohio, New Jersey Illinois, California, Washington, Tennessee, Kansas, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin-- stumbled into the auditorium of Teacher's College at Columbia University, bleary-eyed, jet-lagged, but absolutely determined to win better wages, better healthcare, childcare, job security, recognition, and the respect and dignity of fair contracts for our unions-regardless of what the NLRB had to say.

There were many highlights to the weekend:


Hundreds of us braved rain and cold on Friday and picketed at the New York Regional offices of the NLRB, in protest of the Washington Board's decision to overturn the NYU precedent, which had granted us legal status as employees. It was an uplifting way to start the weekend, and judging by the turnout and noise we made, it seemed clear to all of us that the Democrats on the NLRB are right: we're not going away. See photos of our picket line here.

Conference attendees passed a resolution, introduced by the graduate employees of the University of Wisconsin, condemning the George Bush National Labor Relations Board and re-affirming our commitment to organize for better pay and benefits through unionization. For the text of the resolution, click here.

Appropriately seeing our struggle as one at the heart of organizing rights, the AFL-CIO helped connect CGEU 2004 to the wider labor movement by giving us their "Voice@Work" presentation. Jeff Grabelsky, a member of the faculty of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, gave the presentation, which focused on the importance of the right to organize, and the negative impact on the lives of all workers when that right is taken away. For more information on the "Voice@Work" program, click here.

In addition, we were treated to an inspiring talk by John Wilhelm, a President of UNITE HERE. Wilhelm eloquently pointed out the national importance of our struggle, as ours is one of the fastest growing sectors of the U.S. economy, and yet one of the lowest paid and least protected. He promised that his national union would continue to fight for graduate employees at Yale. Wilhelm was joined by National Representative of the American Federation of Teachers, Richard Klimmer, and Sub Regional Director of the UAW, Region 9A, Julie Kushner, who both reaffirmed Wilhelm's commitment to fight for union rights for graduate employees.

Morning plenaries brought a dash of artistry --we saw a great slide show of picket lines from recent strikes at Columbia and Yale, and we were treated to a beautiful interpretation of "Solidarity Forever" from Mandi Isaacs of Yale University. As, one by one, we rose to our feet and joined in (some more in key than others), there was a palpable sense that, in the face of the Brown Decision, we were coming together in ways only hoped for in the past.

Yale's Brenda Carter, in her Friday morning plenary talk on the casualization of labor in higher education, drove that point home: more and more of the academic jobs are going to contingent and part-time faculty; wages are stagnating; women and people of color are disproportionately on the margins. How to turn things around? Organize, organize, organize!

Individual organizers gave reports from their various unions, giving new attendees new ideas for organizing, and giving the experienced attendees the chance to reconnect with their colleagues and reaffirm their suspicions that, yes, despite the ups and downs, significant progress has been made since CGEU first formed in 1993.

Next year's CGEU Conference will be held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. For more information about the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions, click here.
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