Candidates For Our First Bargaining Committee

The nomination period for the Bargaining Committee has closed. Please congratulate the following members of our first UNH GEU-UAW Bargaining Committee!

  • COLA: Ray Dinsmore
  • CEPS: Ibrahim Engin Taze
  • COLSA: Marjorie Mednikova
  • Paul: Ali Mara
  • CHHS: Vacant

We will be holding elections for the four (4) at-large positions of the Bargaining Committee. Elections will be held from May 8th at 9 am through May 10th at 5 pm, via an online platform. The candidates for this position are Maryam Aswad, Kristin Green, Tim Hoheneder, Arya Martinez, and Jed Siebert. The campaigning period is now open from May 1st through May 7th. We will be hosting a candidate’s forum on May 7th at 6:30 pm via Zoom – a link will be sent day of.

After the at-large position elections have commenced, and given an uncontested election, we will re-open the nomination period for the remaining CHHS seat on the Bargaining Committee. Please see the candidate statements below!

GEU-UAW Election Committee

Kristin Green

Greetings graduate employees and peers – my name is Kristin Green, and I am a PhD candidate in the Natural Resources and the Environment Department/NRESS Program. This is my fifth semester as a graduate student at UNH after transferring from a PhD program at the University of Idaho. I’m nominating myself for the GEU-UAW Bargaining Committee to advocate for an equitable graduate student experience across UNH colleges and departments. In particular, I feel strongly about increasing support systems independent of our direct supervisors and advisors. I hope to build on the success of our recent election in cultivating a strong voice for graduate students at UNH.

Tim Hoheneder

In 2020, while employed as a graduate student worker at West Virginia University, I saw firsthand the value of a union and the potential of solidarity from graduate student workers standing together. Throughout the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I witnessed numerous decisions dictated from university administrators regarding graduate worker stipend levels, employment status, and other significant ramifications without any input, co-signature, or consultation of graduate workers. The impacts of these decisions were vast and ignored our contingent’s financial, emotional, and health needs and voiced concerns. From these lived experiences, I knew we, as graduate workers, needed a vehicle to stand as a collective to prevent this from happening again or putting us at further risk.

Since then, much has changed for me; I graduated from West Virginia and came to UNH, where Iam currently a third-year Ph.D. student in NRESS. However, some aspects have remained unchanged for us collectively: university administrators still view graduate student workers as provisional and the needs of our collective unit are not being met as the cost of living further increases, affordable access to healthcare is fleeting, and we are some of the last voices to be considered regarding institutional changes.This March, we took a massive step towards reclaiming our voice and the power to hold university administrators accountable to ensure equitable outcomes for all graduate workers by voting YES for the UNH-GEU-UAW unionization effort.

 At this moment, I am seeking the chance to represent all UNH graduate workers and my fellow union members on the bargaining committee. I am the External Affairs officer on the UNH Graduate Student Senate and the graduate student representative for UNH on the broader USNH Board of Trustees. However, both of these roles are perceived as tokenized by UNH administrators, and they believe I represent their interests: they are mistaken; I represent every single one of us. Despite presently lacking a vote to catalyze the change we collectively hope to legislate at UNH, I believe my addition to the bargaining committee provides us with such an opportunity. While the other side of the negotiating table may be familiar with me, they must understand that I do not represent them; I am representing our interests, our well-being, and our security, both today and in the future. In that effort, you have an unwavering ally in me, and I would be honoured to sit at the table on the bargaining committee with my fellow union members to craft the best possible outcomes for all of us.

Arya Martinez

My name is Arya Martinez and I am a History PhD Candidate. I am running for the bargaining committee because we deserve a work environment that supports all of our needs and helps us succeed inside our workplace and everyday lives. 

My past three years have been very difficult due to our low stipend, lack of summer employment, limited public transportation and more. Being a woman of color exacerbates these issues and has inspired me to take action and organize. Our previous struggles can and will improve with a strong contract for us and future graduate workers. 

As a graduate student and worker at UNH for the past three years, I have heard and discussed the hardships amongst my peers. In my three years at UNH, I have experienced first hand the many under-compensated and vital duties graduate workers dedicate to our students, research and the overall operations of the University. As part of the bargaining committee, my goal is to gain us a contract that recognizes the dignity and compensation our work merits. 

As part of the bargaining committee, I will fight to ensure we receive the wages we deserve, better health insurance, safer workplaces and increased public transportation.

Maryam Aswad

My name is Maryam, a second year PhD student in mathematics education. I’ve had the honour of organizing with the union for the two years I’ve been at UNH. 

My position on worker unions is simple: every worker deserves a seat at the table, and it’s about time UNH grad workers take a seat. I’ve met so many kind and generous graduate workers who take the status quo they’re given, and make one personal concession after another to keep their labs running or support their students when the going gets rough. As workers, we ought to take part in setting the baseline working conditions so that the lowest rung on the totem pole does not become the one that needs to make sacrifices to maintain the quality of research and teaching we expect from our university.

As a member of the bargaining committee, my hope is to continue connecting with workers one-on-one and in small groups to represent the needs of grad workers holistically. My personal priorities for our contract are the omni-present worker conditions, including PTO and sick days; worker protections for all, but especially our more vulnerable colleagues like international workers; and the concentric circles of local, national, and international labour solidarity.

Importantly, I think it’s valuable as we sit at the bargaining table to embody the values of equity, intersectionality, and community care. My intention is to carry and reference these values throughout my interactions with colleagues and admin.

Peace and solidarity,

Maryam

Jed Siebert

My name is Jed, and I am a PhD student in the Natural Resources and the Environment department in my third year at UNH. I would be honored to represent all graduate workers on our union’s bargaining committee.

I have been involved in the unionization effort since its inception a few years ago, and from the beginning, it has been evident that UNH graduate workers are deeply underappreciated. We are responsible for a substantial portion of the academic labor performed at this university. Without the work of dedicated teaching and research assistants, this university would not function, and it’s time for UNH to recognize that.

I am committed to fighting for every graduate worker on campus. It’s important to me that everyone, regardless of their nationality, identity, or academic department, is heard and respected.

I love the work I do here, but it pains me to see colleagues struggling to make ends meet. I sincerely hope that by serving on the bargaining committee, I can contribute to creating more equitable working conditions for all graduate workers.

I look forward to the day I walk through campus, knowing that my fellow graduate workers are treated with the dignity they deserve.