Unionized undergraduates?

There is rarely much love lost between Yale and its unions. In the last five years, several campus battles have turned into national news stories. The 1995-6 academic year was marred by a bitter union standoff culminating in a GESO grade strike. And recent efforts at grad student unionization have sparked another round of debate about labor rights and the nature of liberal education. Now another faction is preparing to join the fray—Yale's undergraduates.

As union members, friends, and supporters gather for the Fri., Apr. 20 rally on the New Haven Green, a fledgling student union is planning to march in solidarity. The group expects to draw roughly 150 undergrads to an afternoon meeting at the Slifka Center, where it will sign a statement of purpose and officially inaugurate its existence.

Organizers say the inspiration for the new union—which was unnamed as of press time—came from long-running discussions about students' problems at Yale, as well as a feeling that University bureaucracy gave little consideration to student input. "Our goal," explained union spokesperson Abbey Hudson, BR '03, "is to change the way Yale works—so that students will have a voice in any issue that they care about and any issue that affects their lives."

Such issues may include mental health services, environmental policy, licensing, and funding for cultural houses. The student union has also made financial aid reform a top priority. "People say it's a privilege to go here," Hudson said, "and it is. But it can't be a liberating education if we can't take on not-for-profit jobs afterwards because we're in debt. That's a problem."

The decision to mobilize through a union was inspired by students' work with labor interests at Yale and beyond. Hudson, who has spent time helping ease Yale unions' transition to the renovated Branford space, explained the format's appeal: "Labor unions are the most democratic institution in this nation. If we want Yale to give us democracy, we should pattern ourselves after the most democratic institution we can find."

When asked why the University would listen to a student union—whose most concrete bargaining chip seems to be its members' presence in class—organizers explained that a unified group would have the power to pressure Yale into action. A union standoff could lead to bad press for the University, which could then bring about reform. Whether this mechanism is much different from last spring's sweatshop battles—in which a cadre of trade reformers won attention but little in the way of actual change—is yet to be seen. Whatever the case, Yale will soon find itself with another union on its hands-and another flare-up on the horizon.

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