Dear John,
Momodou Taal, a member of UE Local 300-Cornell Graduate Students United (CGSU-UE), was suspended by Cornell University without due process in retaliation for peaceful protest activities on campus. As a graduate worker, being suspended means that he is fired from his job, and as an international student, he is facing the threat of deportation.
Local 300-CGSU and Cornell have an active Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) which obligates the university to bargain over the effects of this suspension. However, Cornell is refusing to meet with the union.
This case is part of a disturbing trend of universities ignoring collective bargaining agreements and due process in order to discipline workers who are exercising their rights of free speech. Universities like Cornell are using academic suspension as a way to fire graduate workers without just cause. This disregard for negotiated agreements and due process is especially serious for international workers like Taal, who will have to leave the country immediately once the University notifies the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of their choice to de-enroll him. Such arbitrary and unilateral actions enable discrimination in our workplaces.
Please take a moment to sign this petition demanding that Cornell follow the MOA and bargain with Local 300-CGSU over Taal’s suspension.
