Father McShane and the Fordham University Board of Trustees:

We, the undersigned faculty of Fordham University, support Fordham Graduate Student Workers’ (FGSW-CWA) right to unionize and urge the administration of Fordham University to remain neutral and move forward with an election without delay. As a Jesuit institution, Fordham is compelled to follow Catholic teachings of social justice and to uphold the Church’s social teaching that affirms the rights of workers to unionize. When the administration agreed to the Fordham Faculty United election in 2017, Father McShane stated that, due to our “Jesuit traditions and historic connection to first-generation and working-class students, Fordham has a special duty [to respect the right of employees to unionize],” and the administration agreed to neutrality and a NLRB election. We urge them to do the same for graduate student workers.

Graduate student employees are essential workers in our university. They teach classes, conduct research, and provide service for our departments. Without them, Fordham could not fulfill its stated mission to develop the intellectual and moral growth of its students. As things currently stand, the unmet needs of Fordham’s graduate student workers inhibit their ability to fulfill this mission. The toll of these unmet needs—such as financial precarity, under-insurance, overwork, and inadequate institutional support—on graduate student mental and physical health is well documented and well known by administrators. By remaining neutral and entering good faith negotiations with FGSW-CWA, Fordham recognizes the ability of the union to advocate for graduate student employees’ needs and demonstrates its commitment to cura personalis, the care of the whole person.

Signed,

Amanda Armstrong-Price
Claire Gherini
Andrew H. Clark
Glenn Hendler
Christopher GoGwilt
Nicholas Smyth
Liz Raposa
Shellae Versey
Selin Gulgoz
Lindsay Hoyt
Leah Feuerstahler
Andrew Albin
Haruka Minami
Elissa Aminoff
Gregory Donovan
Guillermo Severiche
Lise Schreier
Esther Lomas-Sampedro
Mohamed Alsiadi
Carl Fischer
Alessia Valfredini
Jeannine Hill Fletcher
Iuri Moscardi
James Kim
Lauren Jopajtic
Eunji Kim
Maria Ebner
Kristina Jacobs
Kathleen LaPenta
Dean McKay
Chris Conway
Cynthia Vich
Arancha Sanz Alvarez
Vicente Rubio-Pueyo
Laura Specker Sullivan
Michael Latour
Jeanne Flavin
Mark Naison
Reiko Matsuda Goodwin
Samantha Iyer
Goutam Gajula
Nana Osei-Opare
Chris Dietrich
Aseel Sawalha
Daniela Pila
Kirsten Swinth
Daniel Durkin
Shonni Enelow
Aristotle Papanikolaou
Asif Siddiqi
Cristina Traina
Corey McEleney
Maria Farland
Johanna Quinn
Julie Kim
Anne Fernald
Eric Jarosinski
Rufus Burnett
Leo Guardado
George Demacopoulos
Jason Munshi-South
Laura Wernick
Gregory Farmer
Anne Hoffman
Oswaldo Benavides
Silvana Patriarca
Garrett Broad
Wolfgang Mueller
Stephen Sohn
Jeffrey Flynn
Evon Hekkala
Diane George
Crystal Colombini
Olivia Wood
Cristiana Sogno
Stephen Johnson
Ralf Hepp
Daisy Deomampo
Samir Haddad
Elizabeth Stone
Vivian Lu
Joshua Schapiro
Ashar Foley
Kathryn Reklis
Matthew Weinshenker
Cornelius Collins
Giorgio Pini
Nina Horisaki-Christens
Melanie McGrath Knuts
Karen Siedlecki
Janis Barry
Kara Van Cleaf
Lisa M. Gill, Ph.D,
Allison Pfingst
Katherina Fostano
Ian Singleton
Brenna Moore
Emanuel Fiano
Sophie Mitra
Jasun Gong
Christopher Vicari
Brandy Monk-Payton
Britta Ingebretson
Nora Lester Murad
Bradford Hinze
Nora Lester Murad
Sarah Elizabeth Penry
Lauri Goldkind
Christiana Zenner
Katherine Wilson
Laurie Lambert
Elisabeth Wickeri
Falguni Sen
Mary Callaway
Carey Kasten
John Drummond
Lori Wolff
Diana Kamin
Suzanne Uzzilia
John Seitz
Patricia Romero
Ellen van Wilgenburg
Ayala Fader
Lewis Freeman
Joshua Jordan
Maria Biskup
Judith Jones
Mary Erler
Amy Seymour
Liam Baranauskas
Chris Rhomberg
Sharif Mowlabocus
James McCartin
David Budescu
Jenny Meyer
Santiago Mejia
Elisabeth Frost
Michelle Rufrano
Shiloh Whitney
Nina Rowe
Jhilam Iqbal
Christine Fountain
Heining Cham
Theirry Rigogne
Thomas Massaro, S.J.
Brian Johnson
Emily Rosenbaum
Christopher Gowans
Micki McGee
Laura Ponziani
Dennis Tyler
Alison Rivers
Joshua Brown
Tiffany Yip
Karina Martin Hogan
Chris Brandt