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Absolutely! United Campus Workers of Kentucky (UCWKY) is open to any and all campus workers (faculty, staff, graduate students, undergraduate workers), regardless of their visa status.

Yes. All student employees, regardless of their immigration status or visa type, are protected in their right to join and organize as a union.

No. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) cannot ask you questions about your union membership or participation in lawful union activity. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recognized the importance of enforcing labor laws and signed an agreement with the Department of Labor (DOL) that states it is essential to ensure proper wages and working conditions for all covered workers regardless of immigration status. It is your right to belong to a union and being a union member cannot affect your current visa status or future visa application.

As an international student, you cannot vote in local or federal elections. However, all individuals in the U.S., including international students and workers, have the same rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association.

As the union, you and your coworkers decide which actions to take as a union and how you want to engage with your advisor and other members of your department. In some cases, international graduate students may decide to take action together to improve the treatment they receive from advisors or department chairs. In other cases, the decision-makers who can actually improve their areas of concerns (for instance, the graduate student health insurance) are upper level administrators -- and your chair or advisor may agree with your position (and may join the union or already be a member)!

It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against workers for exercising their rights to join and organize as a union. It is stated explicitly in Kentucky Revised Statute 336.130, that “Employees may, free from restraint or coercion by the employers or their agents, associate collectively for self-organization and designate collectively representatives of their own choosing to negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment to effectively promote their own rights and general welfare.” Moreover, as one big union for staff, faculty, graduate and undergraduate workers, we stand up for each other and would fight back if the administration attempted to retaliate against any one of us.

Organizing as United Campus Workers can benefit international students in many ways. To name a few, it can help you eliminate discrimination, navigate bureaucracy, create a sense of community, and improve your healthcare plan and funding. It is a part of our visa restrictions that we cannot work for more than 20 hours a week or work outside school, except in special circumstances. Therefore, it is especially important for international students to see stipends increase every year. Demands for higher pay, better healthcare, and better treatment constitute the core of our “Fair Pay and a Say at UK” campaign.

Since international students formed the International Academics Constituency Group within the union in Spring 2020, we fought for the rights of international students both locally and nationally. We pushed back against the Trump administration’s attacks on international students and faculty throughout the state. We connected with other international workers and those interested in international student issues across the region. We won a 10% increase in TA stipends in A & S College.