"Nine years ago today, GSOC began the longest strike in the history of the US academic labor movement. For seven months, NYU TAs refused to work until union recognition was restored. Nearly two dozen of us were fired and blacklisted, and several never worked at NYU again. The strike taught a lot of us important lessons about the labor movement and the political economy of academic capitalism. It was generative and exhilarating and really difficult, and we went back to work in September 2006 without a contract. Today GSOC is negotiating a second contract with the NYU administration, which is, in itself, a testament to the sacrifices and determination of everyone who walked the picket line, told their faculty to fuck off or get their shit together, and spent the last three months of the strike organizing those who'd returned to work, keeping the union alive. Besides the determination of NYU Grad employees, the strike was a testament to solidarity of the broader contingent academic labor movement. Unions from as far off as Illinois sent organizers to us for weeks at a time. GESO sent three of its best full time lead organizers for as long as a year and a half, as well as a full time researcher and another part-time lead. (Two of GSOC's best organizers returned the favor by moving to New Haven and organizing for Unite Here.) The strike was exhausting and hard, and not being on strike and returning to Sextonian dystopian normalcy the year after that was even harder, but I am still in awe of the bravery and determination of all the people who kept the union alive that year and fought so hard against such a bunch of intractable capitalist shit-asses. Thanks guys."
