The announced that it will spend the spring demanding that the University divest from companies facilitating the Israel-Palestine war in an on Feb. 5.
According to GLO President Sherena Razek GS, the union鈥檚 decision to focus on divestment this spring came after 鈥渆xtensive discussions鈥� among the 鈥渆xecutive board of GLO and the organizing committee of GLO, which includes stewards from all the different workplaces and departments.鈥�
The result of these conversations was 鈥渢he unanimous decision that we cannot sit idly by while we watch an entire people face an extermination campaign and the total obliteration of the rights to education of Palestinian students and higher ed workers,鈥� she added.
鈥淭his specific pledge for divestment is a specific request to our employer to divest from the war profiteering in Gaza,鈥� Andrew Clark GS, the communications director for GLO, said in an interview with The Herald.
University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald that 鈥淏rown鈥檚 endowment is not directly invested in any defense stocks or large munitions manufacturers,鈥� a position that the University has emphasized since last fall.
The University is 鈥渃onfident that our external managers have the highest level of ethics and share the values of the Brown community, including the rejection of violence,鈥� Clark wrote in a previous email.
鈥淲hile our contracts with external investment managers have confidentiality provisions that prevent us from sharing what specific assets Brown鈥檚 endowment is invested in at any given time, our inability to disclose details does not indicate that we are invested in a specific holding,鈥� he added. 鈥淭he University has long-established principles for exploring the question of divestment. Any member of the Brown community can request that the University divest the Brown endowment from the assets of specific companies.鈥�
As part of the campaign, GLO launched a to raise graduate worker support for divestment and organized a teach-in 鈥渢o move our members towards labor as an international solidarity project,鈥� Razek told The Herald.
She described the pledge as a way of engaging GLO members and gauging interest in the campaign, in addition to providing information about how to 鈥済row that campaign and build the pressure around it.鈥�
GLO and Palestine Solidarity Caucus, created by GLO in 2021, also held a 鈥淟abor for Palestine鈥� rally Feb. 7 in support of the students then on hunger strike. The rally featured speakers from GLO and other on-campus unions.
GLO joins a number of unions and union federations across the country, including , the and the , in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
It is not unusual for unions to take political stances in the United States. In 2007, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization 鈥� the largest union federation in the United States 鈥� for the end of American military involvement in Iraq. In 1984, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 staged a boycott protesting South Africa鈥檚 apartheid laws by shipments from South Africa. 1199SEIU 鈥� the largest healthcare labor union in the United States 鈥� stood as the first union to the Vietnam War.
鈥淎s a graduate worker at Brown University, I鈥檓 committed to using my union to the ends for which all unions are intended 鈥� to improve the working conditions of all workers, including those in Gaza,鈥� Devon Epiphany Clifton GS, a graduate worker in the English department, said at the rally.
History of GLO support for Palestine
This isn鈥檛 the first time GLO has pushed for divestment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an issue that our membership has cared about for years,鈥� Andrew Clark said.
In 2021, members of GLO formed the within the union 鈥渇or organizing grads towards Palestine solidarity and trying to situate why this was an issue or a matter that needed to be taken up by grad workers specifically,鈥� Razek said. She added that the caucus opened up a referendum 鈥渢o talk to members about where they stood in this situation and push further on this divestment campaign and oppose the unilateral authority of the University.鈥�
According to Razek, 87% of GLO鈥檚 general membership voted in favor of divestment from 鈥渃ompanies complicit in human rights abuses in Palestine鈥� that same year.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we have to choose between our advocacy (for union workers) and our work in organizing around Palestine,鈥� Razek added. 鈥淲e have an obligation to do both.鈥�
Divestment and graduate workers
Razek and Andrew Clark cited GLO鈥檚 demographics, the issue of higher education in Palestine and the historical solidarity between labor unions and global events as main motivations behind graduate workers鈥� engagement in divestment.
鈥淲e have Palestinian members of our union 鈥� I'm one of them 鈥� who are impacted,鈥� Razek said. 鈥淢any of us have had our students arrested by the administration for their acts of principled civil disobedience opposing the ongoing genocide in Gaza.鈥�
South Africa has claimed that Israel is enacting 鈥渁cts and omissions鈥� that are 鈥済enocidal in character 鈥� (against) the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group.鈥� On Jan. 24, the United Nations International Court of Justice Case that Israel should 鈥渢ake all measures to prevent genocidal acts,鈥� but did rule on the accusation of genocide itself.
Razek contrasted GLO鈥檚 role at the University with the situation of educators in Palestine.
鈥淲e cannot seriously call ourselves a labor union of higher education workers and be silent in the face of the total destruction of the university system in Gaza,鈥� she said. Most universities in Gaza have been completely or partially destroyed since October.
Razek also emphasized the need to protect grad workers who do work or research about Palestine, citing 鈥渄oxxing attacks and targeted campaigns aimed at educators at Brown.鈥� She added that it鈥檚 鈥渄eplorable that Brown hasn鈥檛 come out to defend the professors and graduate students and postdocs working on Palestine.鈥�
Brian Clark denied the latter claim in an email to The Herald. 鈥淏rown鈥檚 primary focus has been, and will continue to be, on supporting the needs and safety of our students, faculty and staff who are Israeli, Palestinian, Muslim, Jewish, have ties to the region and are feeling impacted by current event,鈥� he wrote.
鈥淭he safety of our community is always a foremost priority,鈥� he continued. 鈥淏rown continues to share information on support resources for students, faculty and staff, even as we have encouraged anyone in need of support to reach out.鈥�
Participation from other student labor organizations
According to Razek, GLO has opened its pledge to signatories from other student worker unions in RIFT-AFT Local 6516, including the Teaching Assistants Labor Organization, the Labor Organization of Community Coordinators and the Brown Postdoc Labor Organization.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e a member of TALO, LOCC or BPLO and you care about divestment and holding your employer accountable too, you鈥檙e able to join us in doing that,鈥� she added.
BPLO will also hold its own vote 鈥渢o democratically decide what to do as a union in regards to this campaign,鈥� Caroline Keroack, a postdoctoral research associate and organizer for the group, wrote in an email to The Herald.
Ethan Schenker is a Senior Staff Writer covering staff and student labor. He is from Bethesda, MD, and plans to study International and Public Affairs and Economics. In his free time, he enjoys playing piano and clicking on New York Times notifications.
Katie Jain is a University News editor from New Jersey overseeing the graduate student life beat. She is a junior concentrating in International and Public Affairs and History.
Jennifer Shim is a University News editor overseeing the staff and student labor beat. She is a sophomore studying Applied Math-Economics. Outside of The Herald, you can find her playing NYT Connections.
