Stony Brook RA Union

The Faces of Union Busting

David Prager Bio	Subhash Viswanathan Bio

We’ve learned that our employer, the SUNY Research Foundation (RF), has hired the law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King. BS&K is consulting with Human Resources and the Administration on how to bust our union, and fighting us in court saying we are not workers.

Two BS&K lawyers appeared to represent the RF at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) hearing, which began on October 10th. The lawyers, David Prager and Subhash Viswanathan, are both notorious union busters. Viswanathan worked with the RF to bust unions forming in Albany, Buffalo, and ESF, and is traveling to the hearings in Brooklyn all the way
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On Friday September 26th we filed for a secret ballot election at the National Labor Relations Board. An overwhelming majority of RAs signed the union card in support of the union.

1) We call upon the Research Foundation to stop trying to delay
the vote with their lawyers. They are saying we don’t have the right to have a vote because we are “not workers, but rather just Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the fact that a clear majority of RAs at Stony Brook have already signed up for the union, the SUNY Research Foundation has decided to spend scarce research funds to try and bust our union. Their anti-union campaign seems to come straight from some of the more aggressive union-busting law firms that specialize in keeping workers without union protections. “Union busting” law firms try and dissuade workers from coming together into a union. These expert union busters “coach” employers on how to maintain a non-union workforce. They typically charge about $800 per hour (that’s about $32,000 per week for a full time attorney).

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Recently it has come to our attention that a letter has been issued from the Research Foundation to all Research Assistants. This letter is clearly in response to our recent press conference announcing the formation of our union. Do not be intimidated!

If you’ve already read the letter, full of half-truths and myths, make sure to check out Myth vs. Reality: The Truth About Unions

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Stony Brook University RA Union – Rally and Press Conference

September 15, 2008, 11am

Student Activities Center - Auditorium

Thank you to all the research assistants, teaching assistants, graduate students and community leaders who attended our press conference. The event was a resounding success! We had over 200 people in attendance.

Please click on the title to read any news story

	Stony Brook Research Assistants Launch Campaign to Unionize The Stony Brook Press September 22, 2008
	Research Assistants Unite and Form Union The Stony Brook Statesman September 18, 2008
	Research Assistants’ Union Rally Gets Tangled in Red Tape The Stony Brook Independent September 18, 2008
	Stony Brook University Research Assistants Rally to Unionize Newsday September 16, 2008