My name is Stephan Wagner (he/him) and I'm a second-year PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE). I am the current Area Lead Steward for the MAE, ECE, and SE departments, a Trustee, and a proud rank-and-file member of CGSU-UE. I have been an active organizer in our region and across campus since before the strike escalation that secured our industry-leading contract earlier this year. I am running for Region 4 Lead Steward on the Build / Activate / Mobilize (BAM) slate.

As a steward, I have been representing and supporting graduate workers across our region since we ratified our contract in April. Every day, I fight on behalf of grads to enforce that contract against immense resistance from Cornell. I was elected Area Lead Steward by the graduate workers in Region 4 this summer, and I have since led grievance procedures in departmental and campus-wide fights. In one case, I represented an MAE worker who was denied employment accommodations by SDS. With the help of other Region 4 stewards, including Katrina Davis who is running alongside me on the BAM slate, we were able to secure a remedy for our MAE colleague. That remedy includes consideration of employment accommodations under Title I of the ADA, superseding SDS’s previous policy of granting only student accommodations. This victory sets precedent for all graduate workers at Cornell seeking workplace accommodations they rightfully deserve. In another case, I am standing up for every grad on the Ithaca campus to secure the free TCAT services we are guaranteed in our contract. Despite Cornell’s promises, hundreds of workers have had their cards denied on TCAT buses. Together with BAM slate candidates Jenna Marvin and Andrea Cicirello, I am bringing the fight to Cornell so that every grad can ride the bus for free!

As a current Trustee, I am responsible for safeguarding the property of our Local, which includes our membership dues. Through grievance procedures and the creation of effective data infrastructure, I am working with my BAM slate colleagues Gabe Sekeres, Max Fan, Andrea Cicirello, and Rebecca Margolit-Chan to hold Cornell to its contractual obligation to collect those dues so that we can build a robust strike and defense fund and secure our Local’s future.

As your Region 4 Lead Steward, I will continue to work tirelessly and fight relentlessly to protect and defend graduate workers throughout the College of Engineering, and I will do everything in my power to represent the interests of all grads on campus and abroad. As a Regional Lead Steward and a member of our Local Executive Board, I will uphold the values of CGSU and embody UE’s principles of strong democratic rank-and-file control of our Local. I will work closely with our region’s passionate stewards and organizers to continue to strengthen our incredible worker support network. And I will collaborate and stand with the members of the Local Executive Board to preserve our union in the face of national political pressures seeking to dismantle human and labor rights across the nation.