President DeGioia,

I am writing today to urge you to live up to Georgetown’s longstanding commitment as a Catholic and Jesuit university to social justice and just employment and sign an election agreement with the Georgetown Alliance of Graduate Employees (GAGE) without further delay. Graduate student-workers design and teach their own courses, present their work at academic conferences, apply for research grants and fellowships that add to the university’s reputation, and participate in charitable efforts that encourage good relations with the community. They have more than earned the right to decide for themselves whether they want a union to fight for better living and working conditions.

I support the right of Georgetown graduate workers to decide for themselves whether to form a union by holding an election, without delay or obstruction. Every day that you delay signing an election agreement with GAGE, you call Georgetown’s status as a champion of worker rights into question. There is only one way to address these doubts: sign an agreement with GAGE that allows for a union election through the American Arbitration Association (AAA). I call on Georgetown University to uphold its own Just Employment Policy, honor the demands of justice and Georgetown’s faith tradition, and respect the graduate workers who contribute so much to the university’s mission, prestige, and prosperity.