Duke University, March 8, 2017 — On March 8 at 4 p.m., the Duke Graduate Students Union held a walk out to rally in front of Duke University’s Allen Building to stand in solidarity with the International Women’s Strike and echo their demands.
The rally featured speakers from the university and local communities that will speak to the intersecting issues of pay and sexual harassment/discrimination. Speakers will include representatives from the Duke graduate student and faculty unions, a representative from the Fight for 15 movement, and MaryBe McMillan, President of North Carolina AFL-CIO.
The Duke Graduate Students Union also circulated a petition demanding Duke set a pay floor of $31,200 for all PhD students; pay grad workers on a 12-month schedule starting in August; and provide a $1,000 relocation stipend to first year PhD students.
The International Women’s Strike platform for labor rights states, “All women, irrespective of citizenship status, sexuality or race, must have equal pay for equal work, $15 minimum wage, including for caregivers, free universal child care, paid maternity leave, sick leave, paid family leave and the freedom to organize a fighting union in the workplace” (Source: International Women’s Strike). The Duke Graduate Students Union’s working group on Sexual Harassment and Discrimination, which is helping organize the Duke event, has been working to address issues graduate student workers face in the workplace.
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