The Public Discourse of U.S. Graduate Employee Unions: Social Movement Identities, Ideologies, and Strategies

This paper analyzes the public discourse of graduate student employee unions in the United States. Drawing on extensive archives from ten graduate employee unions' Web sites, it examines their publicly presented identities (marginalized workers and future professionals), ideologies (traditional and/or professional unionism with little focus on social justice), and strategies (disruptive protest and professional politics locally). National networks of graduate student unions suggest that local activities can be understood as part of a national social movement.