Graduate Employees and Students Organization

The Graduate Employees and Students Organization (GESO) is a group of graduate teachers and researchers which is trying to be recognized as a union at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The group's precursor, T.A. Solidarity, was founded in 1987. GESO has participated in several strikes and walk-outs over its history in an attempt to gain recognition as a collective bargaining agent from the Yale University administration. In 2003, GESO held a voluntary election under the supervision of the League of Women Voters, in which a majority of voters opposed making GESO their collective bargaining agent. The union is affiliated with UNITE HERE.

Recent Developments

A small portion of graduate students representing mostly humanities concentrations at Yale and Columbia universities went on strike in for five days in April 2005 in order to gain the right to form a union, even though the National Labor Relations Board denied them of protections under the Taft-Hartley Act. University officials have stated that the strike had "minimal impact" on the operations of the school. Counterprotests by groups such as the Committee for Freedom have gained media coverage as well. Jesse Jackson made a brief appearance on behalf of GESO. [1] The university has stated that it will continue its pervious policy and will not bargain with GESO. [2]

External Links

• GESO Homepage
• Anti-GESO Site
• Labor Relations — Yale Office of Public Affairs