Berkeley

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in the Helen Wills Neuroscience Program at UC Berkeley studying the genetics of aging and neuronal-glial interactions. I’m passionate about forming a union because I know student researchers need power to change our working conditions in order to have safe and supportive lab environments. From chemical spills to harassment and discrimination, our work is dangerous, and we need to build power as workers in order to win protections.” – Holly Gildea

Read more about Holly’s story.

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in Math and I study linear algebra. I support researchers’ rights to unionize because the union allows us to determine how our workplace will function. What’s the word for that? Ah yes, Democracy!” – Satyaki Mukherjee

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher studying Mars’ atmosphere at UC Berkeley. I believe that forming a union is the best way to make sure that every Graduate Student Researcher is treated equitably, paid a living wage, and has a safe work environment. By working collectively, we make sure that the university hears all our voices.” – Gwen Hanley

“There is power in a union! It means having a direct say in decisions that impact us and our communities. I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, studying how on-farm diversification practices impact soil and ecosystem health. Working as a unionized GSI during my master’s at Michigan, I’ve seen firsthand how academic workers can come together to improve our working environment. As researchers, we help to make the university run. In turn, we deserve a say in how our university is run.” – Kenzo Esquivel

“I’m a Graduate Student in Materials Science and Engineering working on cobalt free lithium ion battery cathodes. I see unionization as winning us two very important things. One, we will be able to bargain for higher wages, protections against sexual harassment and discrimination and higher workplace safety standards. Two, we will be building enormous political power together through a GSR union. Together, we can affect statewide action by demanding California legislators act on issues of racial justice, climate change and affordable housing.” – Jordan Burns

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in Neuroscience studying motor behaviors in mouse models of autism spectrum disorder. I believe that the bargaining power granted by forming an SR union is what we need both to ensure the financial and physical safety of all Student Researchers, and to be able to hold the University accountable. Better stability and protection in our workplace will only improve the important work that we all do!” – Katie Cording

“I’m a physics Ph.D. student and a GSR at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. My research is focused on high precision tests of the Standard Model of particle physics. Given persistent issues of harassment and discrimination in graduate school, as well as the unique challenges our international coworkers often face, forming a union is the best path forward for protecting researchers in the work place. We need a union to ensure SRs are protected so that we can focus on our work, knowing if we face harassment we will be protected by the collective power of our coworkers.” – Greg Ottino

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in Neuroscience using optogenetics to explore visual processing in mice. I believe that by organizing together, we can better protect ourselves from harmful workplace practices. Further, we can have a voice in how the University responds to emergency situations and make sure that our priorities as graduate researchers and students are reflected in that response.” – Hayley Bounds

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in Neuroscience studying reinforcement learning and value-based decision-making. I hope that the bargaining power granted by a GSR union will empower graduate students to work on terms that feel comfortable to them, enable us to hold our advisors accountable for good mentorship practices, and improve our financial security.” – Celia Ford

“I am a Graduate Student Researcher at the D-Lab where I research hate speech and fairness in machine learning, as well as teach workshops on programming languages such as Python, SQL, and bash. As a GSR across multiple departments — from the Law School to the Information School to the D-Lab — I’ve witnessed the lack of standardization for hiring and promotion of graduate student workers. A union will help all graduate students be fairly paid for their labor. A union will help mitigate the power imbalances between departments and their GSRs.” – Renata Barreto

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science using mathematical modeling to study how iron accumulates in the brain over time. I support forming a union because I believe that grad school should be a safe and financially secure job for all students across every department. I also believe we need a union so that students can have a say in how the university we work for is run, and so we can ensure that the companies and institutions our departments choose to partner with share our values.” – Zoe Cohen

“I am a Graduate Student Researcher in Civil and Environmental Engineering. I study microorganisms that have the metabolic capability to consume groundwater contaminants and how we can deploy their functions to clean up the environment we are living in. Student Researchers are facing a challenging time in the US, especially international students and those who are underrepresented and more vulnerable to harassment and discrimination under this political environment. Forming a union will enable Student Researchers to negotiate greater rights and protections and form stronger solidarity to strive for diversity, equity, and inclusion.” – Mohan Sun

“I am an international Student Researcher at UC Berkeley working on causal inference and human behavior in transportation systems. I’ve also been affiliated with the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) as a Graduate Student Researcher. I believe that having a seat on the table when major decisions are being made that directly impact us as Student Researchers is of utmost importance. Student Researcher unions have been shown to be very effective in collective bargaining to improve researcher working conditions, reduce the inherent power imbalance in our educational institutions, and improve international student rights and protections, which is why I fully support forming a union at UC!” – Hassan Obeid

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in the Chemistry Department studying electronic transport in 2D materials. I love doing research, and I want research environments to be safer and more inclusive for everyone. Having a union means that UC researchers across the state will be able to use our collective power to fight for changes that we want to see in our workplaces, such as stronger protections against harassment and discrimination, guaranteed wage increases, and better routes to resolving workplace issues.” – Valerie McGraw

“I’m a researcher in Mathematics and I focus on low-dimensional topology. I believe a Student Researchers’ union is important to provide our campus with a climate in which everyone can do their best work.” – Alois Cerbu

“I am an attorney, and a PhD student/Graduate Student Researcher in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program at UC Berkeley, studying work law, social movements, and political economy.  I support a Student Researcher union because workplace democracy is good for everyone (and we need a pay raise!).” – Diana S. Reddy

“Empowering the worker is a step towards reducing inequity to benefit us all. We need to be organized as we work within the university institution! I’m in Civil & Environmental Engineering, studying coastal geomorphology and infrastructure.” – Lukas WinklerPrins

“I’m a graduate student researcher in the Chemistry Department working on using theory and simulation to understand the behavior of electrons in nanomaterials. Things like expected work hours, safety conditions, and relationships with coworkers and advisors vary significantly between research groups. A student researcher union will allow us to use our collective power to fight for a safer and more productive work environment for all of us, regardless of PI or department.” – Dipti Jasrasaria

“By coming together to form a union, we’ll be building for ourselves a voice that is strong enough to secure a better, safer workplace for everyone! I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in Chemistry studying how energy flows through proteins like those that drive photosynthesis. Through unionization we can obtain strong protections against harassment and discrimination, safer working conditions, and better wages, and build a sense of solidarity among student researchers enabling us to complete our work in an improved, inclusive environment.” – Leo Hamerlynck

“I’m a JD student at the Law School and a graduate student researcher at the Labor Center. Having the ability to work and not only earn an hourly wage but also fee remission has been hugely important for me in being able to face the costs of getting a law degree at Berkeley. I am planning on pursuing public interest law and my GSR position will allow me to graduate in a much better position to immediately do the kind of work I want to do. We need a union so that our benefits are protected, there is greater transparency in hiring and equal access to GSRing opportunities for everyone who wants or needs to work, and we can have real job security once we are hired.” – Abby Lawlor

“I am a Graduate Student Researcher in Molecular & Cell Biology studying how proteins self-organize to robustly generate mechanical force during endocytosis. There is currently a daunting power imbalance in which student researchers can only raise concerns about our working conditions as individuals, leaving us easily ignored. If we organize around a union, our collective power will force administrators to listen and ensure a safe, sustainable environment to do research on our terms.” – Max Ferrin

“I am a Ph.D student in the Physics department and a GSR at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. I study the electronic structure of superconductors and superconductor heterostructures using photoemission spectroscopy. A Student Researcher union will allow us to fight issues of discrimination and harassment, as well as make our workplaces safer and any changes to our wages more transparent.” – Kayla Currier

“I am a Graduate Student Researcher in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. I work on learning representations of proteins in order to predict their structure and function. Student Researchers need more protections against harassment and discrimination, along with processes for determining reasonable and safe working hours and conditions. Forming a SR union is the best way to achieve these goals.” – Roshan Rao

“I am a Graduate Student Researcher in the Nuclear Engineering department and I study radiation transport methods. Forming a union is one of the best ways we can shape our workplace for the better. Graduate Student workers should be able to plan out our lives predictably, and be strongly protected from harassment and discrimination in order to make science accessible to everyone, and working collectively in a union is the best way to do that.” – Vanessa Goss

“I am a Graduate Student Researcher in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department. I research programming languages and automated reasoning. Student Researchers should have formal structures in place to protect each other and bargain together.” – Federico Mora

“I am a Graduate Student Researcher in the Chemistry Department. I study problem-solving and metacognition in organic chemistry students. Forming a student researcher union will help us shift the power dynamic that currently favors the university, which does not always have our best interests at heart. I have witnessed and heard about harassment and poor working conditions in my time at Berkeley, and these issues have not been dealt with properly. Unionization will grant us more power to negotiate our pay, benefits, and working conditions and will additionally help protect us from harassment and discrimination.” – Katie Blackford

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in electrical engineering and computer science, studying applications and interfaces for smart buildings. After seeing many friends struggle in problematic advising relationships with little means of recourse, I have come to believe that collective action is one of the strongest tools for Student Researchers to advocate for each other and counteract the power imbalances that are endemic to academia as it exists today.” – Meghan Clark

“I am a Graduate Student Researcher in Integrative Biology, and I study the genetic and molecular basis of chemosensory adaptation to new diets. I became involved in the unionizing effort because we as Student Researchers deserve the opportunity — just like other UC workers — to collectively bargain for our wages, rights, and protections. This is important to ensure that we are all able to be successful in our research endeavors, without worrying about our finances or whether we’ll be subjected to unchecked discrimination or harassment.” – Julianne Pelaez

“I study urban air quality and am a Student Researcher in Earth and Planetary Science. The current system, under which Student Researcher working conditions are up to individual professors and departments, has led to a situation in which Student Researchers are overworked and don’t have proper recourse in the event of accidents and harassment. Even if your PI and your lab group is great, we all know people who have been failed by this system. We need the ability to bargain collectively to protect and support each other.” – Helen Fitzmaurice

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in the School of Information. I study how social media platforms are used in international development projects. It’s important to have a Student Researchers’ union to protect our pay – even during an economic downturn or a pandemic (or both).” – Elizabeth Resor

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in the Math Department, studying probability theory. I think that Student Researchers should form a union because of the way the university brutally responded to the graduate students at UC Santa Cruz and other campuses who were demanding a COLA earlier this year. We can only be guaranteed the dignity we deserve together.” – Milind Hegde

“I am a Graduate Student Researcher in Mechanical Engineering and I do research on additive manufacturing technologies. I fully support the idea of unionization of Student Researchers. It offers us the opportunity to bargain with UC as a whole for fair employment treatment among all campuses and departments.” – Chi Chung Li

“I am a Graduate Student Researcher and Graduate Student Instructor in Civil and Environmental Engineering. I study the effects of shape and size on particle motion and mass transfer rates in turbulent flows. Without a supportive PI and vigilance from Student Researchers, my laboratory environment can quickly become hazardous. Forming a Student Researchers union gives Student Researchers the opportunity to negotiate comprehensive safety measurements for everyone!” – Teri Oehmke

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in the Department of Chemistry working to determine the structure of small molecules to better understand their reactivity. This work, and much of the work done by Graduate Student Researchers, can be dangerous to our physical and mental health. A Student Researcher union would help us bargain for a workplace that is safer, has protections against harassment, and a means to navigating complicated interpersonal workplace issues.” – Mark Babin