Because only together can we win a strike, only together can we call a strike. Grad students at numerous other universities have now engaged in collective bargaining for years with no adverse impact on collegiality. In fact, in 1992, the Dean of the Graduate School at the University Massachusetts stated publicly that collective bargaining had improved the University of Massachusetts graduate school. It is not illegal to join a union in North Carolina. Joining a union is a federally protected right in the United States.
All workers have the right to join a union.
What is prohibited by law in North Carolina is for a state agency to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with state employees. This has not prevented state employees from organizing and winning many improvements. For example, UE 150 members on several campuses have won either de facto or written improvements in the grievance system. There have been other victories that UE 150 has won. But, it should be remembered that our ultimate goal is a collective bargaining rights and a contract.