ANN ARBOR, Mich. — One of the longest strikes by University of Michigan graduate student instructors can continue, following a ruling on Monday by Washtenaw County Judge Carol Kuhnke.
The chief judge of the Washtenaw County Trial Court ruled that a nearly two-week strike by thousands of unionized UM graduate student instructors can go on in spite of canceled classes and other work stoppages as the last day of classes, final exams and commencement exercises loom at month's end.
Kuhnke's ruling followed a request by the university for the court to issue a temporary injunction against the nearly 2,300 striking graduate student instructors, arguing that the work stoppage is causing "irreparable harm."
At the end of a day of testimony by UM officials and one student, Butzel Law attorney Craig Schwartz spoke on behalf of UM and said many classes and sections are canceled, and students are at risk of doing poorly on their final exams because graduate students aren't there to help review course material. He warned that the university may move to a pass/fail grading system for this semester because the graduate student instructors aren't there to help meet the grades submission deadline for the registrar's office.
"This is not the education that University of Michigan students deserve," Schwartz said during closing arguments.
Mark Cousens, a Southfield-based lawyer representing the Graduate Employees' Organization, said the major UM argument about cancellation of classes does not amount to "irreparable harm."
"We're not talking about a K-12 school district where a 6-year-old is going to miss their first day," said Cousens. "We're talking about adults who have virtually completed all of the semester and who may be inconvenienced. But inconvenience is not an irreparable injury."
Kuhnke took a 10-minute recess after the closing arguments. She then ruled from the bench that she could see the strike was causing harm but did not rise to the level of "irreparable harm."
"This case has consequences for everybody, and the issues are extremely serious for everybody involved," Kuhnke said. "There is an injury being suffered by the students and the university community because of the graduate student instructors' strike. I agree that the injury doesn't need to be suffered by everybody, but I assume it to be more than one student.
"... I couldn't put a quantity or a number on the students who need to be impacted. But irreparable harm is an extremely high standard. I find the students in particular who are harmed by the strike, I don't find it meets the standard of irreparable harm that would cause or require the court to enjoin or stop the strike. So the university's request for a temporary restraining order of preliminary injunction, the court's answer is no."
Her decision led to a cheer in the courtroom and outside, where graduate student instructors and their allies demonstrated outside the courthouse all day long.
The strike is among the first crises facing President Santa Ono, who has been in office for six months.
"While we are disappointed in the decision, we appreciate Judge Kuhnke's acknowledgment that our students are still being harmed," UM spokewoman Kim Broekhuizen said in a Monday email. "We also understand the high legal standard of 'irreparable harm' we faced. The university remains ready and willing to negotiate. In the meantime, our top priority continues to be carrying out the educational mission of this university."
Union officials hailed the decision.
"The judge very much made the right call," said Jared Eno, president of the Graduate Students' Organization. "The university has been relying on the courts to force an end to this contract campaign so they don't have to negotiate with us in good faith at the bargaining table. I hope this finally shows the university they should work with us to collaboratively solve the serious problems that we brought to the table that grad students are facing.
"The university could end this at any time by doing right by graduate students and by proxy, undergraduate students," Eno continued. "All we asking for is a living wage, safe working conditions and affordable and accessible health care."
Major issues in the UM strike
GEO went on strike March 29 and stopped their work, which includes conducting discussion sessions, providing grades and doing other work that one witness called "essential" to the university. The strike, now in its 13th day, last week became the second-longest work stoppage at UM since the GEO union was formed in 1974. Its longest strike, held in 1975, lasted for a month.
GEO had been bargaining with UM since Nov. 17, for four months, before going on strike over its contract that ends May 1, Eno said. For two months, the university had refused to talk about substantive issues and then took all the union's proposals, crossed out the language and gave it back, he said, calling it "bad faith bargaining."
UM officials have accused the GEO of engaging in an unfair labor practice by violating its contract with the strike.
Among the issues is an increase in pay. The graduate students are demanding base salaries of $38,542 a year — up 60% from $24,053, which the union says is what the average graduate student instructor currently makes in a year. The $38,000 would be the living wage for those living in Ann Arbor, Eno said.
The minimum full-time stipend for graduate student instructors on the Ann Arbor campus in the 2022-23 academic year was $24,055 per term but only one currently works full-time and most work half-time, according to the university.
The current UM offer on the table from UM is a 5% raise increase in the first year, 3.5% in year two and 3% in year three.
"That doesn't even keep up with inflation," Eno said. "They are really offering us a pay cut."
GSI employees' work includes holding office hours and being among the first relationships that students rely upon if they have struggles, he said.
During the court hearing, Schwartz and fellow Butzel Law attorney Sarah Nirenberg called university employees to testify about the the strike's impact.
Paul Robinson, UM associate vice provost of enrollment management and university registrar, said GEO members are not completing grading and not submitting grades. The grade submission for graduation is the most significant issue for the 11,000 students who have applied to graduate this spring, he said
"If (grades) are not in or delayed, it impacts when we can award their degree," said Robinson. "Students need their degree awarded as soon as possible after they graduate for jobs, graduate schools and sometimes it can even affect their loan status if they had federal financial aid loans."
Subhamitra Roychoudhury, a UM junior from Plymouth who plans to graduate in three years and is applying to law schools at Columbia and Harvard universities, said he has missed two discussion sessions in his economics class and would miss a third this Friday if the strike continues. He added that he would also miss a review session held by a graduate school instructor before taking the final exam, the score of which makes up 40% of his final grade. Previous review sessions in economics classes were "extremely helpful" as they overviewed all the material and helped him understand the concepts better, Roychoudhury said.
Asked about how a small percentage on his final grade would impact his future, Roychoudhury said his aspirations to go to very competitive law schools could have "a significant impact on my future."
The last bargaining session between GEO and UM was Friday. Bargaining is scheduled to continue this week starting on Tuesday.
