Apr 26, 2022

From UIC to Starbucks, Unions are Having a Moment

Show Notes

**UPDATE**

The Graduate Employees' Organization tweeted late Monday night that the strike was suspended. The podcast is updated to include that news.

Statement from UIC about a tentative agreement

After a year without a new labor contract, the graduate student union at the University of Illinois Chicago went on strike last week. Bargaining continues around wage increases, student fees, healthcare costs, and more. On Monday, the union sent a letter to Gov. JB Pritzker warning the standoff with the UIC administration will do “serious long-term damage to our students’ learning and to the university’s reputation.” The momentum around labor organizing is not just picking up on campus. Workers are fighting for better conditions across industries, from corporations like Amazon and Starbucks to smaller, local companies like tortillerías. We talk to Jeff Schuhrke, a labor historian and professor at UIC, about the importance of this moment. Schuhrke also did his graduate work at the university and was once part of the Graduate Employees' Organization that’s on strike.

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