Graduate Labor Union March to City Hall demanding recognition
Hundreds of student workers, university faculty and supporters in bright red shirts marched along Baltimore Avenue in front of the University of Maryland Wednesday before heading to College Park City Hall to protest to be recognized as an official labor union, along with higher wages and protection against unfair working conditions.
Seas of people left buildings around 1 p.m. to meet at the intersection of Regents Dr. and Campus Dr. for the Graduate Labor Union’s protest.
The group held up handmade signs and chanted, “What do we want? Recognition. When do we want it? Now. If we don’t get it? Shut it down. Shut it down,” and “Say it clear. Say it loud. We demand a contract now,” among other protests.
The union was active last spring, including a practice picket on Feb. 26 when thousands of graduate students marched across McKeldin Mall.
The group is advocating for affordable housing, contracts protecting from exploitation, contracted work hours, overtime pay, disability justice and the right to free speech without retaliation.
By 2 p.m. the protesters met in front of College Park City Hall to hold multiple speeches and chants. One of the speakers was Victoria Fernandez, a teaching and learning and policy and leadership doctoral student. She wants a union because she feels she isn’t paid enough for her work.
“I had a union as a teacher but now that we teach teachers, where’s that union?” Fernandez asked.
“Shame!” the crowd yelled in response.
“All of you guys are educators because we make this university run,” Fernandez continued. “We are done with the blatant exploitation of our labor.”
Another of the speakers, associate professor at the college of information Daniel Greene advocated for graduate labor union recognition because he remembers what it was like to be a graduate student. He spoke about donating blood and signing up for experiments for grocery money. All the while, he was being paid more to teach a class his Latina coworker was also teaching.
“My research, my teaching does not exist without grad workers,” Greene said. “I love my job, but our jobs don’t love us back. I call on my bosses at UMD to do the right thing; stop spending endowment money on union busting lawyers… stop fighting the people that do the research and do the teaching.”
Among wages, many criticized the international student fee. According to the university’s financial services, international students are charged $125 per semester for “improved academic support, expanded assistance for students transitioning to the U.S. and international student-focused cultural events to foster an engaged, supportive community.”
GLU’s website has a petition calling for the elimination of this fee along with clear policies outlining medical leave, visa-related leave, funds for visa-related expenses and institutional support for international students who are deported or cannot enter the country.
Many GLU signs indicated that if the union isn’t recognized by the spring semester, that there will be a graduate worker strike. GLU leaders urged protesters to sign a letter advocating for their recognition.
When The Black Explosion Newspaper reached out to UMD for comment, they responded, “The university administration continues to work closely with the Graduate Student Government, the Graduate Assistant Advisory Council, and other student groups to identify student concerns and work to find common ground in advancing improvements.”
Fernandez said in an email statement, “UMD officials have refused to recognize our union and continue to lobby against our collective bargaining rights, asserting to the state legislature that we do not deserve basic employment rights like the right to sick time, decent pay and safe work environments.”