Yale grad students' hunger strike can't turn the tide for labor

On April 24, graduate students at Yale University announced a hunger strike in support of Local 33 of Unite Here, a labor union that represents workers in a variety of industries (including higher education) in dozens of cities across North America.

Their demands? They want Yale to recognise their union and negotiate a labor agreement. The students hope that a contract would ensure them fair wages, mental health care insurance, better protections against gender discrimination and other benefits that faculty enjoy. This is largely in response to the trend in higher education toward