Cornell grad students file discrimination charges over alleged harassment by unions

The students argue they have fulfilled their legal obligations by informing the union of their objections through letters. Federal law mandates that union officials provide a religious accommodation for such objections. This often allows objectors to redirect an amount equivalent to dues to a nonprofit charity.

“Both nationwide and on the Cornell campus, the UE, CGSU, and their other campus affiliates have been at the forefront of demonizing Israel," read the charges. "The unions had no objective or bona-fide reasons to doubt the basis for my accommodation request or to question my sincerely held religious beliefs.”

New York does not offer Right to Work protections, meaning UE and Cornell GSU require graduate students to pay dues as a condition of employment. However, Title VII provides exceptions for those with sincere religious objections like Rubinstein and Gold.

Since 2023, National Right to Work Foundation attorneys have supported numerous Christian and Jewish graduate students nationwide in defending against forced-dues demands from unions. In 2024, Jewish graduate students at MIT secured accommodations allowing them to donate dues-equivalent amounts to pro-Israel charities instead of the UE union.

“This situation at Cornell again shows students and the public at large exactly what GSU and UE union officials’ priorities are: radical political mobilization," said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Union bosses may not like it, but federal law is clear that they must comply with valid requests for a religious accommodation."

Mix added that broader reforms are needed so individuals can opt out of objectionable union support based on political, religious, financial grounds or otherwise.