Yale grad students aim to unionize

Yale Daily News NEW HAVEN, Conn. (U-WIRE) -- Alarmed by the uncertain future of the teaching fellow program, more than 150 GESO members rallied in the Hall of Graduate Studies yesterday, denouncing the administration for its graduate student teaching policies. The dozen Graduate Employees and Students Organization members who spoke sharply criticized administrators on numerous fronts, from teaching pay inequity to potential job cuts next year. The majority of speakers voiced concerns over the possible implementation of the Kutzinski report -- a Yale study of the teaching fellow program released last spring. The report recommended a number of substantive changes to the teaching fellow program, including capping the number of sections graduate students teach and separating stipend awards from teaching assignments. Currently, Yale is assembling a faculty group to evaluate the Kutzinski proposals and to implement changes as early as next fall. Thus far, the graduate school has refused to include graduate students on the committee, largely made up of senior faculty members. "It's a crucial time for graduate students," GESO leader and Yale gradaute student Scott Saul said. "The dean has given us every indication he is going to push through a version of the Kutzinski report without consulting graduate students -- the majority of whom oppose the spirit of the report." Speakers also continued to build support for GESO's ultimate goal -- a student teaching union at Yale. Speaker Carlos Aramayo, another graduate student, alluded to the possibility of a unionization election within the graduate school by the end of the year. Citing support from National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Fred Feinstein, Aramayo reminded GESO members, "This [speak-out] is just part of a larger process." Although populated largely by students from the social sciences and humanities -- the areas of the graduate school GESO represents -- the rally drew a few physical science students as well. Geology and Geophysics graduate student Albert Coleman ignited the crowd with biting criticisms of the report. "It's important that the administration know when they publish bullshit like the Kutzinski report, they are going to make enemies. And these enemies are going to extend across disciplines," Coleman said, evoking cheers and applause. One undergraduate also voiced his opinion in the speak-out. Representing the Student Labor Action Coalition, Dan Abraham, a Yale senior, lent the group's support to GESO's unionization efforts.