On March 29–30, delegates from the Western Region met for UE’s Western Regional Council meeting, where members shared hard-fought victories, prepared for upcoming battles, and reinforced their commitment to building a democratic union rooted in militant, rank-and-file struggle.
Local 792 members had a lot of concerns going into negotiations with Quest Food Service Management. The members work for dining services at Wright State University, and have been employed by various food service contractors who have come and gone from Wright State. The latest employer transition was particularly difficult.
Twelve UE locals, representing over 30,000 graduate workers at both private and public universities, have released a statement urging colleges and universities to form a “Mutual Academic Defense Compact” to respond to the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on higher education.
We are happy to announce a new UE publication, Member-Run Unions: A UE Guide to Democratic Practice. This 32-page booklet describes in detail how UE’s philosophy of rank and file control is best implemented in the day-to-day work of our union: bargaining contracts, fighting grievances, and running our local, regional and national union in a democratic fashion. It also includes numerous practical suggestions for how rank-and-file members can plug into the work of running their union.
UE members joined rallies hosted by the National Association of Letter Carriers on Sunday, March 23 to say “Hell No!” to dismantling or privatizing the Postal Service.
Federal agents are currently on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY attempting to detain UE Local 300-Cornell Graduate Students United member Momodou Taal. Taal is an international graduate worker and visa holder who was terminated from his employment and threatened with deportation by Cornell administrators last September without just cause.
The UE officers have released a statement denouncing the arrest, detainment and threatened deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent legal resident of the U.S., in retaliation for his peacefully speaking out on political issues. The officers condemned this abduction, as well as other threats by the Trump administration against universities, as “serious attacks on our civil liberties” which “will impact all working people if they are not vigorously resisted.”
The statement further points out that “History has shown that a government that feels like it can get away with detaining or deporting legal residents for political speech will also be willing to arrest or deport union leaders who speak out about bad working conditions and low wages.”
Nearly 30 UE rank-and-file members from a half-dozen locals participated in a UE Subregion 1 meeting on Saturday, March 8 at the UE Local 506 union hall in Erie, PA. The subregion meeting featured two workshops on Preparing for a Strike and Fighting Unjust Discipline — Making the Most of Just Cause. Both workshops were facilitated by officers of Local 506, assisted by leaders from Local 300-Cornell Graduate Students United.
On Friday, March 7, members of UE Local 150, the North Carolina Public Service Workers Union, spoke out against increased insurance costs and cuts to health services at the State Health Plan Board of Trustees meeting. Last month, the SHP Board, led by State Treasurer Brad Briner, voted on several proposals to increase the premiums and deductibles paid by over 700,000 state employees. The board is also considering future cuts to services and privatization of retiree health insurance plans.
UE Local 506 conducted trainings for its stewards on all three shifts at the local’s union hall on Thursday, March 6. Local 506 represents 1,400 production and maintenance workers at the sprawling Wabtec locomotive facility in Erie.
The trainings were conducted by Brian Chismar, the Chief Plant Steward, with the assistance of several of the local’s divisional chief stewards. The trainings covered the basics of stewards’ duties, including communicating with their members, filing grievances, and organizing their members.
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