Graduate workers at New Mexico State University say the school stopped deducting union dues from their paychecks without telling them.
The Graduate Workers United Union served a prohibited practices complaint to NMSU, KRWG reported Monday, Nov. 2. The union alleges the university dropped dues deductions for dozens of members without notification, a problem it says dates to October 2024.
Caedmon Ragland, president of the union, told KRWG the group has verified 71 workers this semester who signed dues-authorization cards but are no longer on its rolls as paying members. The union tracked its membership numbers falling month after month, even when no one withdrew.
"We are estimating that the amount of money that we have been deprived of … could be in the realm of $10,000 or more," Ragland said.
That matters. The union represents graduate employees who teach and conduct research at NMSU. New Mexico's state labor board certified the union in 2022, covering more than 900 workers, according to a UE Union press release at the time.
Before delivering the complaint, Ragland and union members held a brief rally outside Hadley Hall on the NMSU campus. They then walked inside to hand-deliver the filing to the NMSU president's office.
Jeremy Doniger, a union member, told KRWG he joined the union to support the broader labor movement but learned his dues had been dropped only after another member told him. He said he had no idea until then.
KRWG reported that it reached out to NMSU for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
The complaint arrives amid broader labor friction at the university. The NMSU faculty union, a separate group affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA), held a demonstration outside a Board of Regents meeting on Oct. 2, according to the NMSU Round Up. That union has been bargaining with the administration for more than 600 days without a settled contract.
It is unclear whether the graduate workers' complaint was also filed with the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board or only delivered to the university. Ragland said the union hopes to recover some of the dues it should have received.
