As organized workers in higher education, we recognize that president-elect Donald Trump’s so-called “pro-worker” agenda is a complete farce. In fact the MAGA Republican agenda is pro-corporate, anti-immigrant, and a threat to all working people. But the Democratic Party is not without blame. They would rather explain their defeat by blaming voters than by taking responsibility for their own record and their own program, which failed to inspire enthusiasm among workers who are struggling to make ends meet. It is urgent that all organized workers in higher education prepare to take action and continue the movement for justice in our workplaces and classrooms.
Read MoreTrans and gender-expansive students and employees, at best, cannot have their identities be accurately reflected in MIT’s systems of record. At worst, the current use and solutions proposed by MIT continue to forcibly out trans and gender-expansive folks to employees all across campus–from housing employees to PE instructors to academic administrators. I have been unknowingly and forcibly outed to fellow students and co-workers. Students in my residence have been unknowingly and forcibly outed as transgender to me in my role as a graduate resident advisor. We, trans and gender-expansive MIT community members, urge MIT to treat this matter with the urgency, care, and resources that it deserves...
Read MoreThe Commute Subsidies article was one of the articles in our contract that our union fought hard for. Many graduate workers commute regularly by bus and train in Cambridge and Boston, so the 70% T-pass subsidy that we won represents money back in the pockets of workers, and a more accessible and equitable campus. However, in the months after contract ratification, many workers found that they were being denied the full 70% subsidy.
Read MoreOur collective pressure is working! In response to the thousands of people who stood up against the unjust discipline of our coworkers, the MIT administration dropped 3 discipline cases and lifted 11 interim suspensions for grad workers! Deportations and permanent suspensions have been successfully avoided for all resolved disciplinary cases.
But the fight continues. Five grad workers still face unjust discipline cases and many are owed thousands of dollars in backpay. Sign our petition to demand that admin drop the charges: http://tinyurl.com/mit-unfair-discipline
See a detailed explanation of MIT’s federal labor law violations and contract violations in the FAQ below.
Read MoreAs unions representing tens of thousands of workers at university campuses across the country, we strongly condemn the use of violent force and disciplinary actions by university administrations against students and workers peacefully protesting to demand their university administrations divest from the Israeli military and from companies profiting from the genocide in Gaza.
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