Stated most simply, I believe the future of graduate education at NYU will be affected in significant ways by the outcome of this election. As you will see from these questions, there is strong evidence that the selection of the UAW to represent graduate assistants in collective bargaining will change many aspects of your graduate educational experience at NYU, both for you and for graduate students of the future. Both academic issues and personal ones are addressed below and I hope that once you see the potential scope of this issue, you will take the time to vote. If the contract negotiated by UAW required union membership, and you refused to pay the associated member initiation fees and annual dues, you could not keep your assistantship. The union can establish fines and disciplinary procedures for GAs who work during a strike without first resigning union membership.
Recent data suggest the opposite.
This amounts to a backdoor way of circumventing the limits on H-1B visas. The UAW believes that hi-tech companies should be required to train American workers for job openings before being allowed to import foreign workers. To the extent that the topic of discussion relates to the terms and conditions of your assistantship, NYU faculty and staff may be precluded from speaking with you. In some cases, you might have to communicate through a shop steward. Yes, virtually all contracts require that grievances be resolved with union participation.