Nearly 1,000 graduate workers at the University of New Mexico — a clear majority — have joined United Graduate Workers of UNM/UE, and have petitioned for recognition with the state labor board. But the university administration has filed a motion seeking to strip graduate workers of their right to form a union under state law, reneging on its prior public commitment to respect graduate workers’ right to organize.
In October, UNM Provost James Holloway said in a statement to the Albuquerque Journal that “the university recognizes the rights of our graduate students to decide to organize.” Now, UNM is backtracking and claiming that graduate workers are not “regular employees” and that their right to collective bargaining should not be recognized.
In describing their new position to the state Labor Board, UNM cites a proposed Trump administration rule that seeks to rob the union rights of graduate workers at private institutions, arguing that New Mexico should apply the Trump administration proposal to graduate workers at public universities in the state.
Please take a moment to sign this petition in support of UNM graduate workers.