The Student Worker Movement is Growing (Jacobin)
Biden endorses UGSDW, possibly helping expansion efforts (Scarlet & Black)
Letter to the Editor: A message on selective union expansion from 200+ alums (Scarlet & Black)
UGSDW and College agree to new contract (Scarlet & Black)
UGSDW Negotiates New Contract with College, CLS Brainstorms Making On-Campus Jobs More Fulfilling (Scarlet & Black)
“Moving On”: Kington Outlines Next Steps for College and UGSDW (Scarlet & Black)
College Addresses Accusations of Racial Discrimination in the Spencer Grill (Scarlet & Black)
Are Universities Political? (Inside Higher Ed)
Students Speak: The Union Decision (Scarlet & Black)
Update on UGSDW (Scarlet & Black)
In Iowa, a union’s report uncovers discrimination at Grinnell College (Worker’s World)
Education Workers on Campuses Around the Country Are Demanding Better Labor Conditions (Teen Vogue)
Top five 2018: Workers in Iowa continue to fight the good fight (Little Village)
Board OKs request by Grinnell students to drop union effort (Associated Press)
Grinnell Student Workers Boost Union Cause by Changing the Narrative (Nonprofit Quarterly)
UGSDW Withdraws Petition to Expand Union, Case Will Not Reach NLRB (Scarlet & Black)
Grinnell Students Drop Union Expansion Bid (Iowa Public Radio)
Students at Iowa college drop union organizing effort (Associated Press)
Iowa students drop union push amid challenge, fearing rollback of Obama-era wins (CNN)
Grinnell student-worker union calls foul as it ends expansion efforts (Des Moines Register)
How a Small Liberal Arts College in Iowa Could Hand Trump a Big Win Against Labor Rights (Mother Jones)
Inside the College Union Beef Exposing Liberal America’s Elite Hypocrisy (VICE)
Iowa College Challenges Vote To Expand Student Workers Union (Here & Now, WBUR)
Grinnell College ‘Invites Trump onto Campus,’ Aiming to Limit Student Collective Bargaining (Progressive)
Iowa College Becomes Battleground For Student Worker Unionization (NPR)
‘Blatant scare tactics’: Iowa university leads crackdown on student unions (Guardian)
Grinnell Files Federal Appeal Over Vote To Expand Students’ Union (Iowa Public Radio)
Grinnell College Risks its Reputation with Labor Dispute (Iowa Starting Line)
Grinnell College student-worker union falls a few votes short of holding proposed strike (Des Moines Register)
Grinnell Union Workers Vote Not To Authorize Strike (Iowa Public Radio)
An Anti-Union (Liberal) College? (Inside Higher Ed)
Grinnell Union Workers Hope To Negotiate, Halt Appeal (Iowa Public Radio)
Grinnell College students willing to negotiate union disagreement (Radio Iowa)
Alumni Speak Out on College’s Decision to Appeal UGSDW (Scarlet & Black)
The S&B Explains the College’s Union Appeal Process (Scarlet & Black)
Letter to the Editor: A Lifelong Grinnellian Speaks Out on Unionization (Scarlet & Black)
Grinnell student union members to vote whether to strike Friday after administrators refuse to meet with them (Des Moines Register)
Grinnell College president: We won’t bargain with student workers union while our appeal is pending (Des Moines Register)
Grinnell alumni: College should not undermine student union vote (Des Moines Register)
UGSDW Leads Protest to Nollen House in Response to Administrations’ Looming NLRB Appeal (Scarlet & Black)
Iowa College Looks to Stop Students’ Unionizing Effort (Associated Press)
Grinnell Students Protest School’s Attempt to Quash Union (Des Moines Register)
UGSDW Wins Election to Expand Union (Scarlet & Black)
Grinnell student workers approve campuswide union; school’s move to quash has national implications (Des Moines Register)
Liberal Arts Students’ Union Bid Threatens Obama-Era Policy (Bloomberg Law)
Ep. 108: The Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (Future Left)
UGSDW Wins Right to Election (Scarlet & Black)
The College Announces Plan to Appeal NLRB Decision (Scarlet & Black)
In Iowa, Pioneering Undergrad Workers Union Keeps Growing (Labor Notes)
Historic Unionization Hearing Concludes, with NLRB Ruling Pending (Scarlet & Black)
College and Union Convene Historic Hearing on Expanded Unionization Efforts (Scarlet & Black)
UGSDW Aims to Expand (Scarlet & Black)
College Community Debates Expanding Union (Scarlet & Black)
Student Workers Demand Union, College Responds “No” (Scarlet & Black)
Grinnell College attempts to become most unionized campus in America (Daily Tar Heel)
Students seek title of “most unionized campus in the country”
(Campus Reform)
These Iowa Students Want Their College to be the “Most Unionized Campus in the Country”
(Des Moines Register)
Grinnell Dining Workers Launch Campaign to Represent All Student Campus Workers
(Workers Independent News)
Union Plans to Represent All Student Workers
(Scarlet & Black)
Grinnell Students Looking to Expand Union
(WOI-TV)
Grinnell College Student Workers Seek to Expand Their Union
(Iowa Public Radio)
UGSDW Negotiates 2.7 Percent Pay Raise
(Scarlet & Black)
Student Union Pushes for Wage
(Scarlet & Black)
Undergraduates Are Workers, Too
(Jacobin magazine)
Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers Advocates for High School Students’ Wages
(Scarlet & Black)
Undergraduate Unions: The Next Frontier?
(Dissent magazine)
Student Dining Worker Union Ratifies Contract, Raises Pay
(Grinnell Magazine)
Union of Students Approves Contract with College
(Scarlet & Black)
Grinnell student employees approve union contract
(Des Moines Register)
Only Independent Undergraduate Labor Union in U.S. Wins Wage Increases
(OurGrinnell)
Bring your Bargaining Chips to the Bargaining Team Meetings
(Scarlet & Black)
Dear Haverford Student Strike Organizers and Participants:
UGSDW members who work for Dining services voted overwhelmingly to reject Grinnell College’s final offer. The union and the college have been bargaining for months, and while the bargaining process has led to significant wins, including paid leave for student workers who are required to isolate under the college’s public health policy, discussions have now reached an impasse. The key issue that remains in dispute is wages. Union members have expressed significant need for a raise that reflects difficult economic circumstances, the real risk of working in-person during a pandemic, the ever-increasing cost of attending Grinnell, as well as the essential nature of dining work. In spite of these facts, and despite Grinnell’s continued claims that they can afford to give a raise of any size, the college refused the proposed raise to $11 an hour and also refused to offer any compromise. This can only be taken as a refusal to recognize the true value of student labor in Dining services.
On Tuesday, July 28th, the UGSDW Executive Board sent a letter to Grinnell College President Anne Harris. The letter responded to Harris’ rhetorical question “How do we start to think about work as a part of what it means to be a student?” from an interview with the S&B and affirmed UGSDW’s qualifications to answer this question as we work for social and economic justice for all Grinnell students. Read the letter below:
In this moment, we as the union’s Executive Board want to clearly affirm our belief that Black lives matter. We know that the fights we’re in on campus can’t be separated from racism, and that labor justice we care about and fight for cannot be separated from racial justice. We support all our members who are protesting and fighting for justice across the country right now, and we’re proud to stand in solidarity with you.
On Monday, May 4th, UGSDW delivered our petition for Work Study Transparency to Grinnell College President Raynard Kington.
As Grinnell College student workers, across departments, we demand transparency into the work study grant determination process. We are asking for the specific formulas applied to determine the grants on a case-by-case basis. We also demand an appeal process so students who were given insufficient grants have a chance to help fix that mistake. You can sign the petition here!
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