Two university student workers were elected to their union bargaining committee in elections that took place in early February.
Raven Hetzler, 27, a New School for Social Research economics student, and Louisa Strothman, 21, a Lang sociology student, were announced on Feb. 2 as the newest committee members. Strothman is the only undergraduate with a seat on the committee.
The two will join returning student workers Mithra Lehn, Lisa Lipscomb, Srishti Yadav and Daniel Younessi, who were initially elected in September 2017. The new members filled vacancies left by students who graduated in Fall 2017.
The role of the bargaining committee is to represent student workers in contract negotiations with university representatives. As of this semester, SENS-UAW represents roughly 540 student workers, the majority of whom are graduate students. The New School is represented by Clifton Budd & DeMaria, LLP, a firm specializing in labor and employment law.
The first bargaining session of the year with all six committee members took place on Feb. 13. Current negotiations are focused on late pay and grievance policy procedures, according to Hetzler and Strothman.
Many on the committee have accused university officials of “dragging their feet” and “pushing back” during negotiations, said Hetzler and Strothman. The union will conduct a strike authorization vote Feb. 26 through March 2. If the vote passes, bargaining committee will have “the ability to set a strike deadline should the administration continue to prolong the bargaining process,” according to SENS-UAW.
SENS-UAW declined to provide information about voter turnout in the election.
Photo by Anna Del Savio
Truman is the Editor-in-Chief for The New School Free Press and a senior in the Journalism + Design program at Lang. He has also contributed online content for both Interview Magazine and V Magazine, talking with musicians, directors and a variety of other artists. Born in raised in Oakland, California, he now lives in Bed Stuy with a witchy roommate who is always down to burn some candles with him.
