At New Mexico State University, unions are gaining traction. From the graduate student union to faculty unions, staff, faculty, and students are joining forces to ensure their worker rights are not violated.
In August 2024, NMSU’s National Education Association was recognized as an official union on campus. They are part of a larger organization in New Mexico called NEA-NM. Their mission is to act collectively to promote transparency and equity in the workplace. According to their website, NEA is made up of “…full-time tenured, tenure-track, and college-track faculty across all the campuses in the NMSU system with shared concerns. We [they] have joined together to strengthen our [their] faculty voice and bargain collectively to advocate for workplace improvements across our university system.”
Each month, the union hosts meetings open to the NMSU community to cultivate discussions and encourage dialogue. Due to constant administrative changes at NMSU, the faculty has determined the lack of consistency from new administrations has led to negligence on the part of new leadership. Since the start of the spring semester, the union has decided to host film screenings at their monthly meetings.
To honor Black History Month, NEA screened “10,000 Black Men Named George” at their monthly congregation on Feb. 11 at the Fountain Theater in collaboration with NMSU Graduate Workers United, Black Programs, and Africana Studies.
The film centers around a historical event in the early 20th century in which African American train workers were exploited for their labor. This led to widespread outrage and sparked a movement to fight for equal worker rights. As a result, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, or BSCP, was formed.
Jamie Bronstein is an NEA union representative and a professor of history at NMSU. She said faculty and staff have raised concerns about their workers’ rights at NMSU.
“Even though we are one of the premier institutions in the southern part [of] New Mexico, there are a lot of problems,” Bronstein said. “Faculty are underpaid, we are not keeping up with our peers at other institutions of higher learning, and it makes it hard to hold on to good faculty. We also have had a bazillion different presidents and provosts.”
“The lack of continuity at the top means that people who are actually … [having] their boots on the ground, teaching the students — our voices get lost, and the unionization is one way to strengthen the faculty [voices],” she continued.
Bronstein said that the themes within the film and the current events unfolding at NMSU have many correlations. Workers have been fighting for their rights for decades, which makes this film more relevant than ever.
Yet, everything has its challenges. Bronstein said that although these screenings are important, finding a way to screen the films is proving to be difficult.
“Not everything is available on streaming, and it makes it hard to share older films with students if it’s not available in some kind of streaming form,” she said.
Despite these challenges, Bronstein hopes the messages in these films reach the NMSU community.
Patrica MacGregor-Mendoza, another union member and professor of linguistics and Spanish, said the union is starting to screen their film series because of this very correlation.
“We wanted to have experiences that inspired us … and brought [the] community together to be engaged with the kinds of things that we’re working for,” MacGregor-Mendoza said.
She believes that “context is everything” and emphasized the importance of unity within this movement. MacGregor-Mendoza discussed the union’s significance, especially at this crucial time of a new administration at NMSU.
“This is not just our fight. It’s part of a movement that’s been going on for generations,” MacGregor-Mendoza said. “We’re here to represent all faculty, and we need input and support. [We need it] from faculty all across the NMSU system. We want to be as comprehensive in our knowledge of the issues we’re fighting for, and we can only do that if we have people participating.”
Daniel Vega, a union member and music professor, said he is very excited to see where the future of the union will take its members. Although he acknowledged there is a long road ahead, he said he believes in the importance of the union and its events.
“I think it’s great that NEA is organizing this union film series because it helps inspire and inform [about] our efforts,” Vega said. “I’m leaving here feeling very energized and inspired to continue what we’re doing for our faculty,”
As the film screenings continue throughout the semester, the NMSU community is encouraged to reach out and learn about the union and its efforts. MacGregor-Mendoza said she hopes the community engages with the union to learn, participate, and contribute.
“If you want to have a say in the kinds of things we are fighting for, then reach out to us,” she said.
Faculty union meetings are held every second Wednesday of the month at 211 N. Water St. from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. If faculty, staff, or students have questions, they are encouraged to reach out to [email protected].
