Precarity in the Academy and Solidarity Amidst COVID-19: Resisting Employment Restrictions on International Graduate Students

Amidst worsening precarity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this article analyzes my employment crisis to highlight the critical value of communication in solidarity efforts. My case is set in U.S. academia, where graduate assistant labor is increasingly necessary for universities to function (Kroeger, McNicholas, Wilpert, & Wolfe, 2018, January 11). However, due to their student–worker identity, graduate assistants are also vulnerable to job loss amidst contestations around their employee status and rights to unionize and collectively bargain (McNicholas, Poydock, & Wolfe, 2019, December 19). Accounting for one-third of graduate assistants (McNicholas et al., 2019, December 19), international students also face unique vulnerabilities tied to travel, citizenship, and work restrictions. These precarities surfaced during the pandemic when the United States closed borders and universities furloughed graduate assistants sheltering abroad (e.g., Redden, 2020, August 11). My experience illuminates broader job insecurities and inequalities in higher education while also drawing attention to the role of communication in solidarity efforts aimed at combatting injustices. I illustrate how communication facilitated solidarity through information exchange, action coordination, transparency mobilization, and emotional connection.