“When the [50 U.S.] states are ranked, an interesting pattern emerges: the top 14 states with the [*]best[*] economic outlooks this year are all right-to-work states, and the bottom 17 states with the [*]worst[*] economic outlook are all forced-union states.”

Honest, thoughtful piece. I often find myself wishing — when ppl claim “violence” (from words or “thoughts”) or play up “intersectionality” or victim status or claim that Salovey is in bed with Trump (?!) — that we could just sit down and have… a conversation. My experience has been that when I microagress with (what I consider) rational questions such as “what are you really saying?” defenses are up instantly and the accusations let fly (or, in the worse case, the speaker is *actually* clueless).

“I know many people who are pro union..passionate and well-meaning… their heart is in the right place. But also are large swaths who range from uneasy with the unionization tactics to staunchly anti-union.” I agree with you. I think it’s a bit like “Animal Farm.” IMO, the “well-meaning” are being exploited by their more-equals and, more obviously, UNITE HERE (Benjamin$). I find it instructive to see where past GESO leaders have ended up (it ain’t the academy), which may inform some of their motives.

“Happy to learn more, and I’ll talk to the folks camping out to hear more of their story.” Good luck. In my experience, asking questions of GESO just invites (incites?) tag-team “coffees” and apt. visits to re-educate the not-done ant (“Everything not forbidden is compulsory.”)

Again, though, I liked you note, and you likely speak for many.

This is why this hunger strike is so frustrating to see. I was told the whole point of the union was that it could engage with Yale on legal grounds! If its role is one of general advocacy, why do we need to bring in an outside organization, and pay yearly dues? The GSA, or simply students themselves, can already effectively do that.

I do *understand* on some level the reasoning behind these tactics. This article recognizes that unfortunately, Yale has a variety of legal tactics left at its disposal, and this process will likely take a lot of time. I do understand the frustration, but isn’t that the point of the legal system? Labor negotiations aren’t simple, nor are they short. I honestly took that for granted. If the point of the union is to engage with Yale on legal grounds, this is a worrying start.

One of my biggest concerns about the union is that it feels like it represents outside pressures more than it represents us graduate students ourselves. As a throwaway example, note that the petition for Salovey to negotiate with the union got 12,000 signatures. That’s an impressive show of support, but the entire graduate student body is ~3,000 students, and only a few hundred are currently part of this union. I know they’re not trying to pretend those signatures are from union members, but it just feels emblematic of how much of this fight seems to be about forces much larger than the actual graduate students themselves. I have no desire to be sucked into a struggle between UNITE HERE and Yale that has been going on for longer than my tenure at the school, one that I don’t fully understand.

This ties in because the union didn’t actually *ask* its constituents for input on this move. My concern has always been that the union is too heavily influenced by interests beyond its graduate student constituents, and this seems like a very troubling example. These drastic actions are being taken without any input from the people that the union represents. If the union could clearly articulate the specific reasons why challenging Yale on legal grounds won’t work, I would much prefer that. They could explain “The problem is that Yale can challenge X result, can pursue Y legal action, and these legal challenges will take up to Z months. We think it will be more effective if we resort to more extreme advocacy, what do our members think.” That’s what I would hope a union could do explain the complex legal situation to us in a clear way, and work with our input. Instead, the promotional video makes an effective emotional plea, with little substance. There’s no explanation of exactly what challenges Yale is using, the time line of what that looks like, or any of that. And there certainly was no looking for input from their constituents.

I readily admit my ignorance on this topic. And while I’m sure folks are tired of being obligated to educate people on some topic they don’t understand, in my defense, I really really have tried to learn the details of this unionization effort. I’ve been to the info sessions, talked to pro union folk, and scoured their websites for any details that I can. I know many people who are pro union, and they are passionate and well meaning people. I truly mean it when I say that I respect their efforts, and that their heart is in the right place. But I also have to say that there are large swathes of graduate students who range from uneasy with the unionization tactics to staunchly anti-union. These voices are often less widely heard, due to apathy, or the fact that they feel a fair amount of social pressure from pro-union folk (i.e. I hear plenty of anti-union talk in my department, where that is the norm and accepted, and very little in some social groups, where a majority are pro union). The union can and should cite their clear victories in several departments, but those departments weren’t chosen at random. They openly say how they wanted to start with the departments with the greatest interest in unionizing, as they should. But I don’t want people to think that it’s as simple as “Grad students vs Yale”, and that many departments feel otherwise (I can safely say that my department is pretty against unionization… it just really varies based on culture, work structure, etc).

tldr: Not pleased with this move. I’d be happy to learn more, and I’ll go and talk to the folks camping out directly to hear more of their side of the story, but I’m not pleased with the union’s tactics so far.

See? I’m tellin’ ya, Yalies: yer TAs resent y’all (and y’alls’ “privilege”) IMO, their low self-regard helps feed this union (aka mediocracy) drive. Rilly.

“‘It’s absurd,’ [said] Duke Law professor Dan Bowling.”

“At the Beinecke P[izza] encampment the eight [hunger-strikers] sat with blank[ies] listening to music and sipping from water bottles.”

Compare with nearby article, “Startup Yale sees high level of female entrepreneurship,” as well as with undergrad startups cultivated via YEI. It’s YDN juxtaposing champs ‘n chumps, diamonds and dross, makers and takers, etc.

P.S. [trigger warning] I’mma go get me a bagel ‘n coffee; anyone hungry?

I, along with other parents were frustrated. Yale graduate students are not an oppressed group. For them to block parents and their children, who are celebrating admission to Yale, was an act of selfishness.

These students should be reprimanded.