ALBUQUERQUE — Cheers erupted from picketing graduate workers when one of them announced through a megaphone that a university-wide text notification had been sent out: The intersection upon which they protested, university officials broadcasted, was said to be “shut down.”

Friday afternoon saw the latest installment in a series of protests taking place alongside union negotiations between University of New Mexico officials and the school’s United Graduate Workers union, which represents more than 1,500 teaching, research, project and graduate assistants at the school. It’s a member organization of larger United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America.

The picket line and intersection shutdown isn’t without cause, protesters said. The fight for the union’s second contract after i

See Full Page