Film as Organizing Tool

As part of this year’s DC Labor FilmFest, SEIU Local 500 and the George Washington University Progressive Student Union sponsored a showing of "I'm on Strike Because..." a 21-minute documentary on the recent NYU graduate assistant strike. The filmmaker, Steve Fletcher, was on hand to participate in a post-showing discussion of the film. Fletcher is a graduate teaching assistant in NYU's American Studies Program and a member of UAW Local 2110. Organized several years ago, the graduate student union had a contract, but when it expired, NYU, led by its President John Sexton, refused to enter negotiations for contact renewal, citing the NLRB's 2004 Brown University decision holding that teaching assistants are apprentices, not workers, even though the NLRB decision did not prevent NYU from continuing to recognize the union. The film focuses on the union's communications plan, how to relate to the media, and how to negotiate the tensions between staying on message and allowing members to speak for themselves. The post-showing discussion at GW on October 9 dealt with organizing techniques, how to respond to intimidation threats, how to gain momentum, and other issues relevant to the GW adjunct teachers union and its current contract negotiations. The film and filmmaker are available to metro DC area campus organizers or further showing and consultation. The DC Labor FilmFest can be reached at streetheat@dclaborarchives.org; Fletcher can be contacted at fletchgsoc@gmail.com - report by Chester Hartman