2010 Coalition of Graduate Employees Conference at SUNY Stony Brook

This doesn’t seem to have gotten much publicity, but the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions (CGEU) is sponsoring a three-day conference at SUNY Stony Brook this weekend. CGEU is a national coalition of around 25 grad student unions. Stony Brook is an hour and forty-five minutes from NYC by train (schedules here) but the program for the conference looks pretty great so it’s worth making the trip if you can.

The increasing turn to an insecure, underpaid labor force is not just happening at CUNY; this is a national phenomenon, and it affects the future job prospects of all grad students. Our whole futures are tied up in this economic enterprise of public schools. If public universities’ funding continues to plummet, we can expect more and more adjunct positions and fewer and fewer tenured ones. That spells economic death for us. The CGEU is in the forefront of fighting for the labor rights of higher education instructors. Definitely worth checking out and supporting. The conference program is below. Visitor information for the conference is online here.

Thursday, August 5

5:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m., Registration

U. Cafe

Friday, August 6

8:00 – 8:45 a.m., Breakfast and Registration
9:00 – 10:30 a.m., Opening Plenary
10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Workshops I

Leadership Recruitment and Development; Maintaining Institutional Memory

Mikael Swayze (CUPE 3902/Toronto), Ajamu Nangwaya (CUPE 3902), Rob Henn (TAA/Wisconsin), Susan Valentine (GESO/Yale)

Running Contract or Advocacy Campaigns

Scott Bruton (Rutgers AAUP-AFT)

Privatization and the Globalization of Higher Education in Canada and the U.S.

Zach Schwartz-Weinstein (GSOC/NYU), Scott Drake (TSSU/Simon Fraser), Aman Gill (GSEU/Stony Brook)

12:30 – 1:30 p.m., Lunch

Speaker on RA Union rally, Kasia Sawicka (RA Union/Stony Brook)

1:45 – 3:45 p.m., RA Union rally
4 – 5:30 p.m., Workshops II

Recent Strikes in the U.S. and Canada

Peter Brogan (CUPE 3903/York), Natalie Havlin (GEO/UIUC), Kerry Pimblott (GEO/UIUC), Anna Kurhajec (GEO/UIUC)

Restructuring of Graduate Education and Academic Labor

Patrick Gallagher (GSOC/UAW), Michal Rozworski (AGSEM/McGill), Arianna Paulson (GESO/Yale), Matt Williams (New Faculty Majority)

Stewarding and Grievances

Mikael Swayze (CUPE 3902/Toronto), David Rowland (GEO/Michigan)

7:00 p.m., Dinner

Marc Bosquet Q&A via Skype

9:00 p.m., Party

The Bench

Saturday, August 7

9:00 – 9:30 a.m., Breakfast
9:30 – 10:30 a.m., Workshops III

Organizing Research Assistants and Post-Docs in the U.S. and Canada

Elric Kline (Rutgers AAUP-AFT, NJIT RA campaign), Jim McAsey (RA Union/Stony Brook), Jing Su (GEO/UMass), Mikael Swayze (CUPE 3902/Toronto)

U.S. Private University Organizing, including GSOC/NYU Fight for Recognition and NLRB Filing

Rana Jaleel (GSOC/UAW), Michael Cramer (GESO/Yale), David Assouline (GESO/Yale), Marie McDonough (GSU/Chicago)

Incorporating the Needs of Minority Sections of the Bargaining Unit

Ajamu Nangwaya (CUPE 3902/Toronto), Lena Palacois (AGSEM/McGill), Michal Rozworski (AGSEM/McGill), Kai Wu (RA Union/Stony Brook), Michigan?, York?,

10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Workshops IV

Creative Communications—web 2.0, facebook, tumblr, youtube, twitter, etc.

David Rowland (GEO/Michigan), Jorge Cabrera (UAW 2865/UCal)

The Canadian Bargaining Context in 2010

Geraldina Polanco (CUPE 2278/British Columbia), Juan Acevedo (TAUMUN/Newfoundland), Arvindh Raman (TAUMUN/Newfoundland), Mikael Swayze (CUPE 3902/Toronto)

Coalition Building on and off Campus

Tamara Kneese (GSOC/NYU), Cristina Cruz-Uribe (GESO/Yale), Ajamu Nangwaya (CUPE 3902/Toronto)

12:30 – 1:30 p.m., Lunch

March 4th and Beyond

Jorge Cabrera (UAW 2865/UCal)

1:45 – 3:30 p.m., Workshops V

Making and Using Film Strategically for Your Campaign

Jim McAsey (RA Union/Stony Brook)

Strategic Campaign Research (including Public Sector Budget Research)

Dave Rowland (GEO/Michigan), Nathaniel Johnson (AFT)

3:45 – 5:15 p.m., Caucuses

U.S. Public Universities

U.S. Private Universities

Eastern Canada Universities

Western Canada Universities

7:00 p.m., Dinner

The Curry Club

9:00 p.m., Party

The Curry Club

Sunday, August 8

9:00 – 9:45 a.m., Breakfast
10:00 – 11:30 a.m., Closing Plenary

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