On Tuesday, April 24, graduate student workers at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York, walked out on a three-day strike over an unfair labor practice charge. According to Fordham grad workers, represented by the Fordham Graduate Student Workers–Communications Workers of America (FGSW-CWA), the university is refusing to bargain in good faith. Grad students voted overwhelmingly to form the union in a National Labor Relations Board election in April 2022; they are now trying to negotiate their first contract with Fordham.

Graduate workers at the university say the administration’s bad-faith bargaining tactics are particularly egregious given that many students struggle to find housing and experience food insecurity; international workers, who aren’t legally able to work outside the university, are particularly vulnerable. Jacobin’s Sara Wexler talked to Fordham grad workers about last week’s walkout, the union’s demands, and the state of bargaining.