Stony Brook RA Union

It looks like an election is around the corner, and the Research Foundation (RF) is getting nasty. They’ve been following the union busters’ playbook by starting real nice, and getting increasingly more aggressive. They’re attempting to keep us divided because when we join together in a union they must negotiate with us in good faith, and can’t just dictate terms to us.
 
We’ve already addressed most of the RF’s claims in Myths vs. Reality: The Truth about Unions.  

Below are some arguments they’ve put forth or that they might make

1. RF claims union is “3rd party intermediary” that wants “dues money”
   Our Response: This is our organization, and none of us will pay a cent in dues until members ratify a contract. If the proposed contract does not win us more than we’d pay in dues, then we will vote down the contract and never pay dues. For more info, see our FAQ on Dues.
2. RF claims union would hurt our relationship with PIs
   Our Response: We are going to negotiate directly with the RF, not with our PIs.  We want to work with our PIs to get more resources from the RF.  Our aim is to work with our PIs and our departments to bring in more money from the RF. For more info see our FAQ for PIs
3. RF crying poverty (while spending money on union busting lawyers)
   Our Response: In their 2007 Annual Report the RF stated they have $51 million in unrestricted money.  We want economic benefits to come from these massive reserves.
4. RF claims they’d make us start paying tuition and FICA taxes
   Our Response:  These are threats that they have said to a few RAs behind closed doors.  They would never do this because Stony Brook would have a very hard time attracting future RAs if they did.  
   What they might say right before the election: 

5. RF claims unions are corrupt
   The RF will likely spring some surprise right before the election and it will probably be to call the union corrupt.  They might cite allegations from last month’s contentious CWA 1104 election in which two “slates” were vying for leadership of the local.  The opposition’s slate alleged the current leadership spent too much on IT support from Crimson Technologies, a company connected to a relative of someone on the Board.
   Our Response: Members of CWA 1104 got a chance to look at the facts, and the majority who voted, voted for the incumbents.  If and when we form our RA Union we will have votes in CWA 1104.  On the other hand, we don’t get to vote on who runs the RF.  CWA is widely seen as amongst the most vibrant, democratic unions in America.  While it’s not perfect, we should always work to make our union as accountable and democratic as possible. 

….Finally, you might be interested in who is :behind the “Center for Union Facts” and the other anti-union websites the RF encouraged us to visit.