I got involved in organizing my fellow graduate student workers at Columbia because I knew firsthand what a difference a union can make. My father was in a union when I was growing up, and without the benefits and security his contract provided, I would never have been able to go to college in the first place. Now as a worker at a university, I see my colleagues' and myself struggling to make ends meet in the most expensive city in the world, with precarious benefits and no real workplace rights.

This is why, over the last three years, I've been part of organizing a graduate worker union on my campus. In December these efforts culminated in an overwhelming 1602-623 Union Yes vote in a historic NLRB election. Unfortunately, however, our university's administration has refused to respect the results of our election, filing flimsy objections to our election in an effort to drag out our campaign and undermine our movement. The pending inauguration of an anti-labor presidential administration means that we need to have our union recognized and get to bargaining right away to secure our rights now.

We are all in this together as working people. Strong unions protect our democracy and give us basic security. Please consider signing our petition to urge the Columbia administration to stop delaying and respect our democratic vote.

In solidarity,

Andrea Crow
Columbia University Teaching Assistant