Posts tagged Stanford
Op-ed: Stanford’s Graduate Student Union Tries to Stifle Dissent
September 4, 2025 // At the University of Chicago, graduate students in a similar position have taken their union to federal court, arguing that forced support of the union violates their constitutional rights. In Graduate Students for Academic Freedom v. Graduate Students United, the plaintiffs—including Jewish students—say they are being compelled to fund a union that promotes the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel, a stance they view as antisemitic. The graduate unions at both Stanford and Chicago are registered as local chapters of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, a national union that funds progressive activism.
Union accused of forcing Jewish students at MIT, Stanford, and Cornell to fund pro-Hamas agenda
August 12, 2025 // At MIT, following the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, the UE affiliate supported campus protests favoring Hamas, the letter states. Five Jewish graduate students requested religious accommodations to avoid paying dues to the union, citing conflicts with their faith. UE General Secretary-Treasurer Andrew Dinkelaker reportedly denied the requests, saying, “no principles, teachings, or tenets of Judaism prohibit membership in or the payment of dues or fees to a labor union.” At Stanford, three graduate students faced similar challenges. Their requests for accommodations were met with what the letter calls an “abusive” questionnaire, which the union dropped after legal pressure.
Five years after failed vote, Pitt grad students unionize
November 30, 2024 // From 2021 to 2023, nearly 64,000 U.S. grad student workers joined unions. By comparison, only 20,394 students unionized from 2013 through 2020. Today, four in 10 grad student employees belong to labor groups. This trend was, experts say, driven in part by the pandemic and by the administration change from Donald Trump to Joe Biden in 2021, which ushered in a National Labor Relations Board more amenable to organizers.
New Stanford subcontractor threatens union jobs, workers say
April 19, 2023 // In late March, Stanford decided to switch from UG2—a maintenance service company used by the University to subcontract workers—to a new custodial provider, Service by Medallion, at its Redwood City campus. This shift is scheduled to take place this Friday, April 14—a change that the union claims will violate the existing union master contract and may impact the employment of 25 UG2 janitorial workers in Redwood City, with potential implications to all 7,000 union members. On Wednesday, a dozen Stanford students drove to Redwood City at noon to show support for the workers advocating for their employment. Students and around ten workers who were on lunch break at the time also sought to present Executive Director of Operations Laura Di Mario with a petition which received over 500 signatures from Stanford affiliates in 24 hours. The petition demanded that “Stanford honor its contract” by not switching to Medallion and not requiring workers to go through the “rehiring” process.
City employees march against low staffing
March 25, 2022 //