Email update sent to faculty on May 13, 2024:

On Wednesday, May 8, the Cornell collective bargaining committee met a third time with the committee formed by the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) over the terms and conditions of employment for TAs, GRAs, RAs, and GAs at the Ithaca, Geneva, and Cornell Tech campuses. An overview of the April 16 session is available on the Graduate Student Unionization Update website.

The May 8 session was challenging, and emotions were high. A large group of vocal supporters with signs and megaphones gathered outside the building where the meeting was held.

The UE started the session by providing a petition signed by students, faculty, staff, and alumni asking Cornell to overturn temporary suspensions issued against three graduate students as a result of their participation in the encampments on campus and to rescind the interim expressive activities policy. The UE demanded to bargain on these matters. Afterward, the UE asked two of the students who received temporary suspensions to provide testimonials to the management bargaining committee explaining how the temporary suspensions impacted both their roles as students and graduate workers in the bargaining unit.

The Cornell team clarified that the students in question were suspended for violations of the Student Code of Conduct that occurred outside of the context of their assistantships. As such, the university remained firm in its position that it did not and does not have an obligation to bargain with the union over the decision to temporarily suspend the students consistent with the Student Code of Conduct. The university team explained that Cornell has a consistent and established past practice of enforcing the code for the last 60 years and therefore, consistent with current labor law, the university was not and is not obligated to bargain over the decision to issue these temporary suspensions. Instead, violations of the Student Code of Conduct are managed by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (OSCCS) and therefore it would not be appropriate for Cornell’s bargaining team to bargain with the union over the decision to suspend these students. With that being said, the Cornell team explained that it would be willing to bargain with the union over the effects that the suspensions have had on these students’ terms and conditions of employment. To that end, the bargaining committee confirmed that restoring TA access to Canvas could alleviate one of the student’s concerns.

The UE asked for a commitment that the suspended students would not face de-enrollment.  While the university’s team affirmed that is a shared goal, it could not commit that de-enrollment would be taken off the table at a structural level given OSCCS’s process. Notwithstanding this, the university team reiterated that the students have each been informed of a clear path by the OSCCS to avoid de-enrollment by committing to refrain from further Code of Conduct violations.

The UE team proposed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding a broad swath of university policies impacting working conditions, asking that Cornell not change the working conditions “of any Employee pursuant to any policy, including the Student Code of Conduct,” unless otherwise agreed to by the parties. Cornell plans to respond to the proposal in an upcoming session.

The university team then offered four counterproposals to the UE (Appointment Duties, Appointment Security, Training, and Union Rights). These counterproposals are currently under review by the UE.

The UE rejected Cornell’s Management Rights proposal in its entirety, claiming that “inadequate due process” had been given to graduate students. The UE also countered the university’s No Strike, No Lockout proposal.  These topics will continue to be the subject of negotiation.

It is important to note that Cornell and the UE are in the very early stages of negotiating a contract for graduate assistants, a process that may take many months. There will be give and take in this process, but a rejection of any given issue at this stage may still be discussed at a later date, and a mutual agreement will eventually be reached.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for May 16, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Archives of all bargaining session updates and FAQs are available on the Graduate Student Unionization Update website. If you have additional questions, please email them to graduateunionupdate@cornell.edu. Your questions are helpful in building the list of FAQs.

Email update sent to faculty on April 23, 2024:

On Tuesday, April 16, the Cornell collective bargaining committee met a second time with the committee formed by the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) over the terms and conditions of employment for TAs, GRAs, RAs, and GAs at the Ithaca, Geneva, and Cornell Tech campuses. An overview of the March 25 session is available on the Graduate Student Unionization Update website.

In the April 16 meeting, the parties set an aggressive timeline for seven full-day bargaining sessions in May, June, and July, reflecting the university’s commitment to engaging deeply and swiftly on these subjects with union partners.

In addition, the Cornell committee circulated a series of counter-proposals to the UE’s initial list of proposals regarding grievance procedures, union rights, and severability, as well as management proposals on “no strike no lockout”, management rights, terms of agreement, and duration. While circulating these proposals, Cornell noted other collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) that exist on campus and explained that Cornell must take these CBAs into account during the bargaining process.

The UE committee held a caucus to review Cornell’s proposals, then requested various policies referenced in the proposals. Cornell agreed to provide copies of those policies. UE also inquired about specific aspects of Cornell’s proposals, including postering and orientation.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for May 8, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

In order to inform faculty about the ways in which unionization is changing graduate education at Cornell, the Office of General Counsel is working in consultation with department chairs and college leaders to develop departmental presentations to be shared at faculty meetings. Look for these events in the coming months.

Archives of bargaining session updates and FAQs are available on the Graduate Student Unionization Update website. If you have additional questions, please email them to graduateunionupdate@cornell.edu. Your questions are helpful in building the list of FAQs.

Email update sent to faculty on March 29, 2024:

On Monday, March 25, a committee of Cornell representatives participated in the first collective bargaining session with a committee formed by the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) over the terms and conditions of employment for TAs, GRAs, RAs and GAs at the Ithaca, Geneva, and Cornell Tech campuses.

At the bargaining session, 20 graduate students spoke about their experiences at Cornell and their proposals for improvements. Discussion also touched on the frequency, mode (in-person or hybrid), and duration of future bargaining sessions.

The UE committee presented a list of proposals representing their initial bargaining position. The next two bargaining sessions will take place on April 16 and May 16.

Please refer to the Graduate Student Unionization Update website for a set of frequently asked questions about graduate assistant unionization and collective bargaining. If you have additional questions, feel free to email them to graduateunionupdate@cornell.edu.