This January, after MIT’s administration refused to voluntarily recognize the clear majority of graduate workers who signed union cards in support of unionization, they reached out to the MIT Graduate Student Union (MIT-GSU) seeking an agreement on fair terms for a vote on graduate worker unionization. We were hopeful that this meant they were genuinely interested in working with graduate workers to make MIT a more equitable community that represents and responds to the needs of all of its members. Graduate workers representing the MIT-GSU met with MIT’s administrators and lawyers multiple times, and we were able to find common ground on several points about the logistics of an election and the need to hold one this semester, reflecting the urgent need for graduate workers to have a say in our working conditions. However, to our shock, the administration insisted that graduate workers funded by fellowships are not workers and sought to use this artificial distinction to deny over 1,000 graduate workers — approximately 20% of all graduate workers — the right to vote on unionization. Because the administration refused to compromise on this point, we could not reach an agreement, leaving the terms of the election to be set by the National Labor Relations Board in the coming weeks. The administration’s position ignores the fact that graduate workers funded by fellowships do the same vital work as every other MIT graduate worker.