In a ruling on August 23rd, the NLRB made it possible for private university graduate students to unionize. This is just great news for so many of Ethix Merch’s clients!
The National Labor Relations Board ruled on August 23rd that Columbia University graduate students have the right to form a union and collectively bargain over wages and working conditions. This is a really cool development that will also affect graduate students working at private universities across the country, and it’s been a long time in coming.
We are pretty excited about this new development, because we work with so many student organizations. We help them with their student organizing campaigns, getting the word out with promotional merch like T-shirts and other items with their organizing slogans. Of course, Ethix Merch also works every day with unions and believes in the power of union-made promotions as well. So we feel that this legal development is significant in every respect imaginable!
Speaking for the Graduate Workers of Columbia University, Local 2110 of the United Autoworkers, Olga Brudastova (a PhD student and union organizer) said, “When we started it, we were hoping to still be in grad school to witness it, so, of course, it’s really exciting.” We couldn’t agree more!
Brudastova also said she expects her fellow grad student workers will now have a better relationship with the college administration and will enjoy a more democratic process to determine work and life conditions.
We wish them well and salute their pioneering efforts at Columbia University!
