We live in a world where the United Auto Workers, plagued by their corruption scandal and grappling with a rank-and-file presidential candidate, are wreaking havoc at major universities. As a result, classes are grinding to a halt:
- University Of California: Earlier this month, 48,000 UAW-represented graduate student researchers, fellows instructors, and tutors voted to strike across ten campuses. This week, the conflict launched the biggest higher education strike in history with the union seeking amped-up benefits and $70,000 baseline salaries for post-doctoral workers, who currently earn about $55,000 per year.
- New York University: A late-October vote by UAW-represented adjunct instructors led to a strike authorization that could have put nearly half of all classes on pause. Subsequently, the university struck a tentative deal for raises, although the university is not out of the woods yet.
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Graduate workers voted to join the UAW with the intent to push for big raises and improved benefits.
