ANN ARBOR – Graduate student employees at the University of Michigan can continue to strike after a judge denied an injunction request by the university.
Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Carol Kuhnke ruled on Monday that an injunction would not be granted since the strike was not causing the university “irreparable harm.”
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“The university remains ready and willing to negotiate,” U-M spokeswoman Kimberly Broekhuizen said in a statement. “In the meantime, our top priority continues to be carrying out the educational mission of this university.”
U-M’s Graduate Employees Organization has been on strike since March 29, demanding a living wage and better health care. For its part, the university has stated that the strike is illegal and in breach of contract for which the school has filed an additional suit against the union.
“The court upheld workers’ right to strike,” GEO President Jared Eno said in a statement. “We’ve been saying all along that the university’s move to use the courts to force workers back on the job was an unjustifiable abuse of the legal system. Today, the court agreed.”
GEO seeks a 60% wage increase during the first year of its new contract, followed by increases in years two and three tied to inflation. According to a U-M release, GEO’s proposed raise would have members raising about $55 per hour in the upcoming academic year.
“The university keeps trying to convince a court that we are causing irreparable harm by striking, and they keep failing,” Ember McCoy, GEO vice president said in a statement. “Our strike is having an impact, and the university was unable to meet the threshold of evidence necessary to warrant an injunction. We just want a fair contract where the university pays everyone a reasonable wage.”
Negotiations between the two parties are ongoing.