2020 Michigan graduate students' strike
The 2020 Michigan graduate students' strike was a labor strike launched by the Graduate Employees' Organization 3550, the graduate student employee union that represents approximately 2,100 graduate student instructors at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. The main cause of the strike was related to graduate students' objection to the university's plans for reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional calls were made by the union for defunding the campus police. The strike started on September 8, 2020, and was scheduled to last for four days, with a subsequent vote extending the strike for another week. Following the start of the strike, resident assistants and student employees for the university's dining services announced they would also strike over similar concerns regarding the university's COVID-19 policies.
GEO members and supporters protesting
Graduate student employee unionization
Graduate student employee unionization, or academic student employee unionization, refers to labor unions that represent students who are employed by their college or university to teach classes, conduct research and perform clerical duties. As of 2014, there were at least 33 US graduate employee unions, 18 unrecognized unions in the United States, and 23 graduate employee unions in Canada. By 2019, it is estimated that there were 83,050 unionized student employees in certified bargaining units in the United States. As of 2023, there were at least 156 US graduate student employee unions and 23 graduate student employee unions in Canada.
A 2020 strike by the Graduate Employees' Organization 3550 at the University of Michigan