Striking UMich Grads Hold the Line While Facing Cops, Docked Pay, and Out-of-Touch Administrators (w/ Alejo Stark)

Graduate student-workers at the University of Michigan are still on strike after hitting the picket line for the second time in three years at the end of March. In the time between the Fall 2020 and Winter 2023 strikes, according to the union, the gap between graduate workers' average pay and the cost of living in Ann Arbor has tripled. Facing a cost-of-living crisis and fighting for a slate of core demands—from a living wage and affordable childcare to better protections for international students, access to gender-affirming healthcare, and the creation of an unarmed, non-police emergency response unit on campus—graduate workers are not backing down. Meanwhile, University of Michigan President Santa Ono and the upper-level administration have continued with their attempts to break the strike through the courts and even had the cops called on striking graduates when they confronted Ono about UM's handling of the strike. In this mini-cast, a follow-up to our March 31 report at the beginning of the strike, we are joined once again by Alejo Stark, a grad worker and rank-and-file member of GEO, to give listeners an update on where things currently stand and how you can help. 

Disclaimer: Max is a former GEO member and earned his PhDs from the University of Michigan.

Additional links/info below...

• GEO website, Facebook page, Twitter page, and Instagram
• GEO Strike Fund
• Working People, "University of Michigan Grads Strike for a Living Wage (w/ Alejo Stark)"
• Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Worker Solidarity Livestream: Strikes at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, University of Michigan, and More"
• Miles Anderson, The Michigan Daily, "UMich Planning to Withhold Pay from Striking GSIs"
• Tweet thread from UM alumnus Dr. Jennifer Rubin 

Permanent links below...

• Working People Patreon page
• Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!
• Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song