This week, the Union presented counterproposals for Workspace & Materials and Workload. The University presented its counterproposals for Union Rights, Grievances & Arbitration, and International Workers.

While we continue to make good progress on some of these, the University is still offering us very little regarding protections for International Workers. Throughout our campaign, we have been steadfast in our commitment to improving the conditions of and protecting our international peers. With recent changes in the federal government, this is more important than ever.

In our initial proposal, we demanded that the University stand by its commitment to ensuring that international workers maintain their jobs in a safe environment without fear of deportation or harassment from immigration law enforcement agents. In response, the university administration has made clear that they have no intention of proactively protecting its international workers and has rejected virtually all meaningful protections we had included in our proposal. Meanwhile, many of our peer unions and universities already have the contractual rights that UNH administration is saying they will not agree to.

We want to be clear: we care deeply about our international worker community and will continue to stand up for each other. The University has a moral responsibility to do everything in its power to ensure its most vulnerable graduate workers are secure. We can only accept a contract with strong and explicit protections for international workers.

We’re fighting hard at the bargaining table to secure the sensible protections that we all deserve, but we need everyone to help if we want to win these rights.

Our next bargaining session is on February 18th at 11:15 AM in MUB 302, and it’s vital that we show up to bargaining to show the administration we deserve a strong contract. We strongly encourage you to join!

If you have not yet signed the Contract Demand Letter, please join the hundreds of grad workers who have done so already. This is another way to show the University how strong this union is.

In solidarity,

UNH GEU-UAW Bargaining Committee