About

History

  • In the fall of 2020, a group of first-year students across the College of Engineering began organizing a union. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed flaws in the University’s ability to meet student needs; it became clear that we, the graduate students, needed to organize, as the university would not help us in an emergency. Since then, we have clarified our goals and purpose, grown our membership, and developed local and national connections. We are the Virginia Tech Graduate Labor Union. 
  • Over the past three years, the Virginia Tech Graduate Labor Union has been busy. Here are some of the things we have accomplished in just this short time:
    • Learned about Virginia laws as well as university policies and organizational structures in order to stand up for graduate students’ legal rights
    • Had members join most major University governance committees
    • Held protests, letter-writing campaigns, and publicity campaigns advocating for a living wage for graduate students 
    • Had members involved in the hiring processes of professors, department heads, and deans
    • Provided community support and a safe space for graduate students to share their experiences and get advice
    • Affiliated with the Virginia and National Education Association teacher’s union as a local branch
    • Worked in collaboration with United Campus Workers VA to achieve common goals

Purpose

As a union, we have many goals. You can read our constitution and bylaws for more details. In short:

  • Community – to unite the graduate workers of Virginia Tech to advocate for and support one another. 
  • Social Progress – to promote the welfare and protection of all community members in their pursuit of professional and academic success.
  • Accountability – to advance the common good for all workers and uphold a safe working environment for all. 

Structure

We will be holding elections for leaders later in the fall 
Read our bylaws for more

  1. General Membership – all eligible graduate and professional students at Virginia Tech (at least one big meeting per year)
  2. Standing and ad-hoc committees – budget and fiscal, Research and Policy, Communications, Elections, organizing and Membership, inclusion, belonging, and justice. Meets at least six times per year any member can vote and attend. 
  3. Representative Council – yearly elected voting representatives for affinity groups, organizations, and departments. Meets at least six times per year. Union representatives are the contact points between their departments/groups and the union and help members deal with day to day issues
  4. Executive Council – an elected body that represents the overall union membership responsible for fiscal and administrative roles. Meets as needed and open to all members to attend
  5. Board of Directors – members from the Representative and Executive Council (meets 6 times per year) any member can attend but only Board Of Directors members can vote.