From Seth Kahn, APSCUF member and faculty at West Chester University
So far, I’ve joined the Temple University Graduate Students’ Association (TUGSA) picket lines twice.
My first day on the picket line (Thursday, February 9) was just days after management revoked tuition waivers and cut off striking workers’ health insurance without warning. My union, the Association of Pennsylvania State Colleges & University Faculties (APSCUF), has been raising money for their strike fund, but it was time for me to be on the lines with them. When I got there in the early afternoon, the operation was in full-swing: on a pedestrian mall stretched over about two city blocks were the check-in station, tables with drinks and snacks, tables for organizations petitioning or organizing other kinds of support for the strikers, places to rest, and the picket site itself. Easily identifiable by their Day-Glo yellow t-shirts, 75-100 striking workers were engaged in support tasks (food, check-ins, etc) and picketing in front of the administration building. For two hours, the picket kept its size and volume. I was one of a handful of siblings from other unions marching with them. The message I got from striking workers was just as loud and clear as the picket line chants: We’re not asking for anything ridiculous. Management won’t negotiate things they know are fair because they’re afraid of losing face in front of their powerful, rich, anti-higher-ed friends. I told them something that’s an article of faith for me: They lost as soon as you walked. Now it’s just a matter of how long it takes for them to figure that out.
My second day on the TUGSA picket line was Friday, February 17. I attended a rally organized by the PA AFL-CIO, featuring speeches from several prominent local union leaders and two state legislators well known for their support of public higher education. It was a gross, rainy day, but turnout was strong (at least 300 by my count) representing at least a dozen different unions. The rally was a powerful statement. It featured UCFW, AFSCME, SEIU, several different industrial trade unions, and others, all loudly on board with TUGSA’s demands. After the rally, most of us joined the picket lines again for another spirited round.
On Tuesday, we learned that TUGSA members decisively voted down their Tentative Agreement (TA). They remain on strike with a clear mandate for living wages, dependent healthcare, family leave, and fair workloads. With that news, workers in APSCUF and other local higher ed unions are redoubling our support. We’ll stand with them as long as it takes.