This just in: NYU has decided to end its recognition of its grad student union, the first at a private university in the U.S. (Read the article
here.) Of course, the university is sweetening the deal by pledging on its own to keep increasing stipend levels, keep down entering class size, and establish new forums for student governance and complaints—and I think it will, since NYU has a lot invested in keeping its rankings going up—but this is bad bad news for the academy.
And whatever happens at NYU, there is now TOTALLY going to be a strike in the fall at INRU, probably of indefinite duration. (And yes it’s selfish of me, but after participating in two week-long strikes in my time there, I’m really, really happy I won’t be teaching there this fall.)
