Why We Want a Union
Madeleine Lewis
Human and Organizational Development
I support the graduate workers union because we do vital work as graduate students within the university, and we all deserve a say in the university’s decisions that affect our day to day lives. Forming a union allows us to strengthen our collective voice on campus and negotiate a union contract so we can create lasting changes in our working environments in higher education, including increased stipend amounts, better health insurance, and fair grievance procedures.
Nick Goodell
History
We teach the classes, do the research, run the seminars, lead department events, help recruit new grads, and do the other work that makes VU work. This university works because we do. We therefore deserve to have a permanent seat at the table with the administration to advocate for the best working conditions possible.
Sofía Rivera Sojo
Political Science
Because I strongly believe improving grad students’ working and living conditions is crucial to making academia accessible and inclusive. Vanderbilt and all higher education institutions will benefit from happier and healthier grad students who have a union consistently looking out for their rights and wellbeing.
William Lamb
Physics & Astronomy
The cost of living in Nashville is growing exponentially and our stipends are not keeping pace. Decisions by the university in the past few years e.g. regarding housing, has shown that the university doesn’t consult grad workers sufficiently, if at all. A union would provide a cohesive platform for grad workers that the university must consult in their decision-making process.
Caitlin Volante
Peabody Psychology
I support VGWU because I believe that everyone deserves to be treated and compensated fairly for the work that they’re doing, and that there is power in numbers. It feels great to be a part of a community that is working towards bringing Vanderbilt into the future, and I’m excited and hopeful to see how we are able to change things.
Lauren Drake
Biomedical Engineering
I believe every graduate worker should have a reasonable living wage to survive independently in Nashville. We should have a collective power in making decisions that impact the graduate body, because we are the ones living each day as grad workers.
Eric Wright
Biomedical Engineering
The University’s core mission is to teach and conduct research. Graduate students are vital to that mission but our pay and benefits do not reflect our expertise and contribution.
Kelly Cunningham
Philosophy
I support VGWU because I believe that unionizing workers in higher education makes education more accessible for all. Your family’s wealth should not determine whether or not pursuing a graduate degree is financially feasible. Having a union would help reduce these economic barriers.
Cameron Pattison
Philosophy
I support the union for two reasons: First, even if Vanderbilt means the best for us, we need a unified voice to make our priorities heard by an institution as large and complex as this. Second, a union would enable the departments with the best working conditions to advocate more effectively for those with the worst. For these two reasons, I support the union.
Greg Berumen
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
We are workers of the University and it is crucial for us to be united in order to improve our working conditions and make a just wage!
Lizi Metts
Teaching and Learning
I support VGWU because they advocate for what students need — now and in the future.
Gemini Simpson
Physics & Astronomy
Collective bargaining is how we shape the university in our image and not the other way around. Union organizing puts us in greater contact with each other as workers when the university does so much to keep us separated. The concessions the university provides to us are expensive or useless or both, and we deserve better! We deserve free housing and a living wage, free childcare and healthcare, and a cop-free campus at bare minimum! Unionizing is how we build towards winning these things.
Yinjie Zhong
Chemistry
I support a union for better treatment, a better life, and to protect what we have gained.
Kyra Smart
Biomedical Engineering
I have been committed to service and outreach to support my fellow grad students for my entire time at Vandy. I know that the majority of graduate students support collective bargaining with the university and for this reason I want to help organize my coworkers to get better working conditions.
Anne Schaller
Economics
I support VGWU because I believe in its mission to create an environment where Vanderbilt graduate students can thrive. The graduate students I know work incredibly hard to Vanderbilt’s benefit and deserve to be treated well by their employer in return.
Lexi Yates
Interdisciplinary Materials Science
I want to see graduate workers fairly compensated for the necessary work that they do for the university.
Kaitlyn Schaaf
Microbe Host Interactions in Biomed
VGWU is the way I build and care for my community. I want to leave my program better for the students after me and VGWU is the only avenue that has worked to get real change.
Max Rohde
Biostatistics
I support VGWU so we can advocate for a fair wage and employment benefits.
Maxwell Hamilton
Cancer Biology
I don’t want grad school to be a privilege available only to those who can afford it. I think that grad students should be paid fairly for the teaching and research they do.
Maya Krause
Anthropology
I support VGWU because as graduate students we need an organization that advocates for higher levels of personal and professional support, specifically in terms of a living wage, comprehensive health insurance, and impartial grievance processes. Another benefit of being a member of VGWU is that it offers a sense of camaraderie among grad students.
Camille Msall
Psychology and Human Development
Vanderbilt administration has shown that they only care about our ranking, and what it means for their already overflowing wallets. I am in VGWU to organize with my coworkers in Peabody and fellow graduate students across Vanderbilt to ensure are our voices are heard. We deserve fair stipends and the equity in pay for all the labor we do as students, researchers, teaching assistants, instructors of record, grant writers and the many other responsibilities we have as graduate students.
Justin Farry
Biomedical Engineering
We are here to do research and teach, to do that optimally we shouldn’t have to worry about things like money, housing, food, and our health. VGWU gives us a voice to negotiate with the university for a contract that means we won’t have to worry about these factors and can focus on doing our best work.
Kyle Riedmann
Cell and Developmental Biology
VGWU is the only organization on campus fighting for better working conditions for all graduate students on campus. Without a unifying group, we stand unprepared to tackle the issues closest to graduate workers.
Patrick Reilly
History
Unionizing gives us the power to improve our pay, our work, and our education!
Rebecca Adler
Psychology and Human Development
I support VGWU because we deserve to be paid a living wage for our work.
Ben Schwartz
English
I want to make sure that my profession remains accessible to all. I believe that all workers should be adequately compensated.
Denali Relles
Math
I support VGWU because I think it’s a great way for us to support each other, as a communuity.