Dear Editors,
We reject the resigned cynicism of the article, “EmoryUnite! union faces uncertain future in wake of Trump's victory.” Seizing upon post-election anxieties, the piece painted EmoryUnite! as lacking direction and momentum. In reality, graduate student workers remain focused, energized and committed to securing a contract that enshrines our rights.
Recent events demonstrate the union’s strengths in mobilization. On Nov. 13, EmoryUnite! held its first general body meeting. Nearly 200 attendees strategized contract negotiations to ensure Emory University administrators could not turn a deaf ear to our demands. Graduate student workers highlighted daily precarities: insufficient protections against the rising cost of living, inadequate dependent healthcare coverage, a lack of paid medical or parental leave and indifference toward international and undocumented graduate student workers. Notably, housing consumes half our stipend — which ranges from $38,000 to $40,000 before taxes — while up to a third is swallowed by dependents’ insurance.
The week after Nov. 13, a large contingent joined the bargaining session between EmoryUnite! and University representatives, pressuring Emory administration to acknowledge the urgency of our proposals. With turnout expected to remain high at future general body meetings and bargaining sessions, EmoryUnite! will not relent until the University meets its responsibilities to graduate student workers.
Regardless of election results and Emory’s recalcitrance, our fight for fair wages and protections is far from over. We call on the Emory community — faculty, staff and students — to stand with us. We call on The Emory Wheel specifically to better their reporting of EmoryUnite! by moving beyond electoral politics. As labor relations are contentious at Emory, the Wheel must consider the union’s purpose and progress, the significance of collective bargaining and the issues at stake — pertinent to not only graduate student workers, but also the broader community. Framing EmoryUnite!’s efforts through a lens of partisan resignation effaces our achievements from nearly a decade of organizing and undermines worker solidarity. Emory’s future hinges on the recognition and fair treatment of all workers. As Emory’s first union, it starts with us.
EmoryUnite! Organizers
