There are many provisions in standard Academic Worker Union contracts (known as Collective Bargaining Agreements or CBAs) that directly support International Student Workers:

Academic Worker Union Contracts normally state that the University cannot revoke your appointment once you’ve accepted it.  If you are offered and accept a TA or RAship, for example, the position cannot be taken away and your pay and benefits cannot be changed for the duration of your appointment.

This has been especially important in cases where Universities have tried to revoke appointments during Covid for international students working abroad:

• • UAW Local 2865
  • UAW Local 4121
  • “The Age of Immigration: Under the New Crown Crisis, a Chinese Doctoral Student Studying in the U.S. Cross-Cultural Struggle” (10/2020, English Translation). Original version published in China here. 
  • “Life Has Been Hell for Seattle’s Incoming International Scholars” (The Stranger, 9/3/20)

Academic Worker Union CBAs also require clear communication about the duties you’ll be required to complete when you are given an assistantship.  This creates more clarity about your work and transparency in how you are evaluated.

Unionized Academic Workers have much stronger rights to protect themselves against discrimination and harassment.  This means that, through the Union, International Students have the ability to challenge decisions that disproportionately impact them because of their citizenship status or country of origin.  

For example, Academic Worker Unions have successfully campaigned to eliminate discriminatory student fees or tuition differentials that were assessed only on International Students:

• • UAW Local 4121 helped reverse the International Student Fee at the University of Washington
  • UAW Local 2865 has fought off the Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition charge that disproportionately impacts International Students at the University of California.

UAW Local 4121 has also bargained an innovative prevention program called Empowering Prevention and Inclusive Community (EPIC), jointly administered with the University of Washington, designed to anticipate and stop discimination and harassment in academic environments.  Read more about it here.

International students and scholars are more vulnerable to unfair, exploitative or even abusive treatment because we rely on our employer to sponsor and renew our visas.  It’s not uncommon, for example, for our advisors to use the threat of deportation to intimidate or coerce us to work long hours, do work that doesn’t help us make progress toward our degrees, etc.  Union contracts help protect against this by incorporating a set of legally defined rights known as “Just Cause” which provide greater due process, transparency, and protection against arbitrary or disparate treatment.  Many CBAs also include specific due process rights for international students/scholars, for example to enable us to travel during a disciplinary proceeding. In combination with other parts of the CBA, like protections against discrimination and harassment, this provides powerful protection in situations where an International Student Worker is disciplined or terminated.  Read these stories for examples of situations like this:

• • “Pregnancy Discrimination Looms Large at UCLA, Forces Women Out of Academia” (June 2019) and UCLA has Agreed to Renew Sandra’s Appointment (June 2019)
  • “Postdocs Matter and Must Be United” (August 2017)
  • “Pregnancy Discrimination in Science (And Why We Need Unions)” (October 2017)

The right to appeal University decisions about matters covered by the collective bargaining agreement to a neutral third party arbitrator.  This creates greater accountability, as it ensures that Universities cannot be the final decision-maker in disputes.  Typically the right to neutral third-party arbitration ensures disputes are resolved at the department or college level.

Union members have the right to be represented and advised by peer union members who are trained in enforcing the collective bargaining agreement.  This means that you don’t have to navigate difficult situations on your own or rely solely on the University administration for guidance.  Union members (those who are working in a unit that has already negotiated and democratically approved a contract) also pay dues to provide the resources necessary to support independent advocacy, including legal advice as needed.

• • International Solidarity Working Group
  • Contract Enforcement Working Group
  • Anti Discrimination Working Group

While none of us expect to be wealthy while in graduate school, economic insecurity and lack of access to sufficient care and support can greatly impair our ability to remain healthy and face pressures of studying and living in the U.S.  Most of us do not come from independently wealthy families so do not have additional resources to help pay for food, rent, supplies and other necessities.  This is especially true for those of us supporting children or our families.

• • “Rising Student Mental Health Problems Need Urgent Action” (University World News, September 2020)

Unionized Academic Workers have more power to bargain for higher wages, lower out of pocket student fees, better health insurance benefits, stronger Leave protections, paid time off, and many other improvements.  Here’s an extensive comparison between terms and conditions at UW (unionized) and WSU.

As International Students we are regularly told that we should not participate in U.S. political affairs, but we actually have many of the same legal rights as U.S. citizens.  We cannot vote or contribute financially to political campaigns, but we have the right under the first amendment to speak out and assemble publicly and have even more power and protection to do so collectively through a Union.  Here are some examples of recent campaigns by Unionized International Students and Scholars to stop policy proposals that would harm us:

As part of its ongoing attempts to scapegoat immigrants, the Trump administration created a new proposed limitation on F-1 visa program designed to discourage coming to the U.S. to study and work.  In response, thousands of UAW members across the country attended an information session with an immigration attorney about the impacts of the rule and then submitted comments to DHS, and the UAW President submitted comments like this one opposing the rule.

• • “More than 30K United Auto Workers union members oppose federal proposal limiting student visas” (Daily Cal, 10/9/20)
  • “UAW 4121 stands up against new Trump ruling that limits the visas of international students and scholars” (UW Daily, 11/24/20)

UAW members nationwide – in coalition with elected representatives and immigrant rights groups – participated in lawsuits and direct action to stop the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office from imposing a rule that would have prevented International Students from being enrolled in U.S. Universities that had primarily switched to remote learning.  

• • Read more about these actions here

In April, 2020, the Trump administration issued an Executive Proclamation announcing an initiative that targeted international students and scholars, citing a need to prioritize “American” jobs.  In response, UAW Locals around the country sent letters and organized meetings with members of Congress urging the maintenance or expansion (rather than limitation or elimination) of programs critical for non-immigrant visa holders and visa applicants in higher education (OPT, CPT, J-1, H-1, O-1, etc).  While the Trump administration still proceeded with attempted limitations on these critical programs later in the year (see ICE Directive and Duration of Status sections, above), this early intervention in coalition with other University and Immigrant Rights advocates helped limit the scope of what was being contemplated.

When the Trump administration first announced a travel ban to the U.S. from certain countries, UAW members immediately took action by:

• Helping stranded International Students get back to the U.S.
• Joining protests at airports around the country
• Meeting with elected officials about the impacts of the ban (see photo)
• Submitting legal briefs in support of national litigation to stop the ban.

As a result of these efforts the travel ban was halted.  Later attempts to revive it were considerably weaker as a result of these initial efforts.

When a 2015 lawsuit prevented the extension of the OPT Program, UAW immediately began advocating for the restoration of the original timeframes both at the national and Local level. International students around the country worked through the Union to submit comments, start petitions, and work with the national AFL-CIO to support the program.  Those efforts continue today, as the Trump administration proposed new rules limiting the OPT Program.