Unions across Brown University and Brown University Health have banded together to form a new labor federation with about 7,000 members total.
In a Monday announcement, the Brown University Labor Council (BULC) branded itself as “the first effort at creating a cross-sector labor organization” since the Ivy League school partnered with Lifespan to rebrand as Brown University Health last summer.
The council’s president, Maddock Thomas, said in a statement that it will work to unify Brown and Brown Health workers across any respective labor campaigns, contract talks, and picket lines. Beginning Sept. 15, the council plans to hold a series of educational events on labor organization to help workers get involved in their unions and organize their workplaces.
“In this time of overlapping crises, the voice of labor is crucial,” Thomas wrote. “A strong labor movement means that working people will have a seat at the table as we work to solve these problems. The BULC allows us to build a cohesive labor movement for workers affiliated with Brown across all sectors and workplaces.”
Labor organizations in the council include:
- Brown chapter of American Association of University Professors
- Brown University Postdoc Labor Organization
- Brown Health and Care New England units of Committee of Interns and Residents
- Graduate Labor Organization
- Brown Student Labor Alliance
- Transdev and Rhode Island Hospital units of Teamsters Local 251
- United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) Local 5098
- Library and dining units of United Service and Allied Workers of Rhode Island
The federation wants to align and coordinate union activities and contract timelines, and intends to pursue joint bargaining efforts, according to its website.
The federation’s constitution details that each member union gets two voting delegates on the council. Those delegates can vote for the federation’s executive board, which includes a president, secretary-treasurer, and two vice presidents. Meetings will typically be monthly, according to the constitution.
The council cited uncertainty about federal health care and higher ed funding among reasons for the group’s formation. The council’s statement also took aim at Brown’s recent handshake with the federal government. The school settled with the feds in July to conclude three separate investigations into alleged civil rights violations on campus, including the use of race-conscious admissions and accusations of a climate of antisemitism on campus.
Brown agreed to not maintain race-conscious admissions as part of the agreement. While the university maintains that the July agreement will not impact academic freedom on campus, the agreement has also drawn criticism because it requires the school to employ binary definitions of gender in student athletics, locker rooms and dormitories. The university also needs to submit detailed annual reports on admissions data and provides new avenues for students to report suspected antisemitism on campus.
The agreement with the feds “abandons much of the University’s core educational mission and puts community members at risk,” the labor council’s announcement stated.
Correction: This story was updated to reflect the correct nature of Brown University and Brown Health’s 2024 rebrand.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
