August 4, 2008, 08:27 AM ET

Unions and Academic Democracy

cross-posted from howtheuniversityworks.com

The 17th Annual Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions (CGEU) conference finished yesterday, and the 4th Annual Canadian Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions conference begins Thursday.

Click the Flash player above to screen part 4 of 4 in my extended interview with activists from Graduate Students United at the University of Chicago, a portrait of an emerging union drive at a private institution. They reflect on the benefits of organizing, whether unionism is an end in itself, and on the nature, purpose, and extent of democracy in higher education.

In a couple of weeks, I’ll feature another grad-employee four-parter with a group of activists from GSOC-UAW at NYU, another private institution, but at entirely a different point in their experience. The NYU folks reflect on a successful organizing drive and first contract, setbacks with the NLRB, a failed strike, the strategy of continuous organizing, the arrogant law-breaking of the administration, and other topics. You can also just get their book from Temple University Press, a superb case study.

Graduate-employee unionization in the U.S. is more advanced at public institutions, and organizing at private schools stalled for a while in the aftermath of the Bush mob’s hijack of the NLRB, but there is a resurgence of militancy among grad employees at private institutions.

Part 1: Why Grad Employees Unionize Part 2: Ballad of the Dissertators Part 3: Pushback Part 4: Unions and Academic Democracy

4th Annual Canadian Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions Conference Hosted by GTA-Union at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. August 7-9, 2008.

8th International Conference of the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor Hosted by COCAL-California, San Diego State University. August 8-10, 2008