‘Worker power is a threat to the way the university is run’

This week, graduate student workers at the University of Chicago are engaging in a three-day work action to demand the university recognize their union, Graduate Workers United.

The action comes shortly after graduate workers went on strike at University of Illinois-Chicago, resulting in major wins, as well as recent teacher strikes at charter schools in the city that made similar gains for teachers. The work action at UChicago is also part of the larger teacher strike wave happening across the country, starting with teachers in West Virginia inspired by the Chicago Teachers Union strike in 2012 and whose current contract expires at the end of the month.