By Jesse Russell

New York University graduate students resumed their strike as the new semester opened on Tuesday. The strike began in early November of 2005 after the university announced it would not recognize the union. The administration has threatened to strip striking students of their stipends and teaching appointments if the strike continues.

By Doug Cunningham

NYU's graduate student teaching assistants remain on strike as the try to win a second union contract. NYU's administration refused to continue to recognize the union after a Bush NLRB decision said universities were not legally required to recognize grad student unions. Susan Valentine is a member of NYU's graduate Student Organizing Committee. She says faculty is angry about administrators being added to student email lists because that amounts to administration surveillance of faculty during this strike..

[Susan Valentine 1] : "Faculty were particularly upset about this because our supportive faculty had been moving their classes off campus to respect our pickets lines. And so I think the assumption is that these administrators were trying to find out if faculty were respecting the picket lines by doing these kinds of moving of their classes and also I think to try to find out whether the teaching assistants involved with these faculty were on strike or not."

By Doug Cunningham

NYU grad students plan to be on the picket lines today instead of in the classrooms. They're striking to get NYU to recognize their union and bargain for a second contract. Thanks to a Bush NLRB ruling NYU no longer has to recognize UAW Local 2110. Steve Fletcher is on the organizing committee for the grad student teaching assistants. They won a first contract that ended this summer and they're convinced they can win a second contract.

[Steve Fletcher] : "Right now people are very energized. We're seeing a lot of solidarity from other unions, we're seeing a lot of solidarity from politicians.

By Doug Cunningham

Roughly a thousand New York University graduate student workers are planning a fall labor action in defense of their collective bargaining rights. NYU has told UAW Local 2110 representing the workers that after five years NYU will no longer recognize the union, taking advantage of a Bush administration NLRB decision to try to smash the campus union. Jenny Shaw is with the bargaining committee of UAW Local 2110 at NYU.

[Jenny Shaw 1] : "Our contract officially ends on August 31st of this year. And I think it's fair to say that NYU can expect that it will not be business as usual following that. There is going to be a lot of disruption on campus and we are going to having an action on that day, the details of which are being worked our right now."

By Doug Cunningham

Graduate student workers at New York University will get the official word from the NYU administration in a couple of weeks about whether NYU will continue to recognize their union. UAW Local 2110 represents the NYU grad student workers. Spokesperson Bethany Runes (Roon-iss) says a Bush NLRB decision along party lines took away the legal status grad students have to collectively bargain.

[Bethany Runes 1] : "They just don't want to have to relinquish power, to give up power to a union. Especially not a grad union, where, you know, in an institution where they want full control over everything.

Runes says this is a clear attack on labor and grad student workers at NYU won't give up their union.

More than two thousand U-Mass/Amherst graduate student employees are walking out today to protest attempts by the university to wring wage, health care and child care concessions from them. Jen Turner is President of the U-Mass Graduate Employees Organization.

[Jen Turner 1]: "So that's the reason why we're walking out. We feel it's important for our members to show the university that our members are mobilized and our members are angry over these concessions that they're asking for in our contract."

Graduate teachers at Yale voted last night (OR Wed. night) to go on strike for one week starting next Monday. In a joint action, Columbia University graduate teachers will be striking as well. Melinda Tuhus reports from New Haven.

[Tuhus start]: Of the 500 graduate students teaching this semester in the humanities and social sciences, 300 are members of GESO. After the strike vote last night, which was 82 percent in favor, some members practiced for next week's picket lines:

Cut :12 (chant -- what do we want, contract! when do we want it, now!)

The union is seeking health care for members' families and affordable