Dear Sisters and Brothers:

ONCE AGAIN, THE Bush Labor Board denied another group of workers the protections of federal labor law. First it was workers at the Dept. of Homeland Security, then it was airport screeners, now it's graduate employees. Who will be next?

After 4 years of a union contract, NYU has decided to withdraw union recognition from graduate employees when their contract expires on August 31, 2005. NYU's decision to disrespect the decision of its graduate employees to form a union through UAW is an outrageous insult to all union members and to workers who are seeking a voice at work by forming a union.

We need to send a loud and clear message to NYU to respect the decision of its graduate employees to form a union and demand that they bargain in good faith. Please help NYU graduate student employees keep their union and protect other workers from losing their chance at better treatment at work through union membership by joining the labor movement at a demonstration at NYU on Wednesday, August 31 at NYU.

We will send you another email regarding time and place.

In Solidarity,
Colleen Gardner and Susan Borenstein

Susan Borenstein
National Field Representative
AFL-CIO
(212) 661-1555 ext 12

What YOU Can Do: Rally With Us on August 31st!

Now more than ever before, we need to continue to pressure NYU to enter into good faith negotiations with our union. In fact, we need to increase our efforts. Our contract will expire in just twenty-four days, on August 31st. On that day, we will hold a rally in front of Bobst library. Our last rally in April was a huge success, with hundreds of GSOC members and supporters coming out to demand NYU bargain with us. Building on the momentum of the April rally and the Town Hall meeting last month, we will have even more support this time from elected officials, members from other unions on campus, other grad unions, and national labor leaders. But, as you know, we need to have every available GSOC member at the rally!

The exact details of the rally are still being worked out, but it will be on August 31st, most likely in the early afternoon/lunchtime. Please make every possible effort to clear your schedule for that time, even if it means coming to NYU on your lunch hour from a summer job or rearranging plans that day. It is absolutely imperative that we respond to the expiration of our contract by showing NYU that we won't rest until we have a new one!

Please RSVP to gsoc@2110uaw.org or 212-387-0220 to confirm that you will attend the rally on August 31st. We have thousands of supporters to inform about the rally, we need your help to get the job done. If you have even an hour to spare, you can make a valuable contribution. When you RSVP, let us know when you can volunteer in the coming weeks and months. This is our union, and all of us need to fight to keep it!

In Solidarity,

Michael Palm, GSOC Unit Chair, American Studies
Elena Gorfinkel, Cinema Studies, Bargaining Committee
John Pat Leary, Comparative Literature, Bargaining Committee
Bethany Runes, GSOC Staff Organizer
Jenny Shaw, History, Bargaining Committee
Maida Rosenstein, President, Local 2110/UAW