Left Perspectives on Discipline III: Organizing Labor at the University: Perspectives across Ranks

Session Submission Type: Lightning Round

Brief Description

As austerity continues to target higher education in general, and humanities programs in particular, REEES scholars across disciplines, departments, and ranks have responded by organizing. Recent years have seen an upsurge in new unionization efforts, strikes, and contract negotiations. Graduate employee organizations have been particularly active, but non-tenure track and tenure-track faculty have become increasingly involved as well. Some unions have even begun experimenting with negotiations across ranks (as at Rutgers and NYU), raising important questions about the relationship between the different strata of labor at the contemporary neoliberal university. Continuing a format begun at last year’s ASEEES conference in Philadelphia, this lightning round will bring together graduate workers, non-tenure track and tenure-track faculty from around the country to discuss experiences, challenges, and possibilities for solidarity in labor organizing in REEES.

Sub Unit

• Professional Development, Non-language Pedagogy, State-of-Field

Chair

• Ryan Hoaglund, U of Michigan

Papers

• Reflections on Organizing at Hamilton College - Jason Andrew Cieply, Hamilton College

• Reflections on Organizing at UC Berkeley (Graduate Student Perspective) - Ros Herling, UC Berkeley

• Reflections on Organizing at the University of Michigan - Katie Kasperian, U of Michigan

• Reflections on Organizing at Rutgers University - Dominic Leppla, Independent Scholar

• Reflections on Organizing at Princeton University - Elisa Purschke, Princeton U