Latest News
Moving Backward: Statement on May 7 Student Campus Memo
May 8, 2019Trustees suspended discussion on partial expansion at the last minute. UGSDW members are shocked, disappointed, and concerned.
Members Elect Fall 2019 Executive Board
May 6, 2019UGSDW voted on May 4, 2019 to elect officers of the Executive Board. The newly elected officers will assume office on July 1, 2019
Statement on Feb. 21 Special Campus Memo
February 21, 2019Fighting for all student workers, UGSDW looks forward to a dialogue with the administration.
Our Letter to the Board of Trustees
February 9, 2019UGSDW President Quinn Ercolani sent a letter to the trustees, explaining the reasons behind our recent disruption of their meeting, and reiterating our request for discussion and dialogue with the college.
Trustees Walk Out as UGSDW Asks for Dialogue
February 8, 2019On February 8, to reiterate our demand for President Kington to meet with us and discuss our ongoing expansion campaign, 40 UGSDW members peacefully disrupted a meeting of the trustees of the college.
UGSDW Unearths Evidence of Racial Discrimination at the Spencer Grill
January 21, 2019New UGSDW Report Details Grinnell’s Consistent Bias in Discipline and Termination Decisions
UGSDW’s New Year Resolution
January 1, 2019UGSDW revisits a historic year of labor organizing, and envisions the fight to build a powerful union for all working students in 2019.
Grinnell College Sent Backpedaling After Successful Student Demonstration
December 14, 2018After a student occupation of Grinnell’s administrative building, President Kington said that the college would no longer oppose UGSDW’s request to withdraw its petition.
UGSDW Withdraws Petition, Seeks to Preserve Rights of Student Workers; Grinnell Opposes
December 14, 2018To preserve student workers’ rights nationwide, UGSDW has requested to withdraw its position. Grinnell College is hypocritically opposing it.
Grinnell College, Running Scared… to Trump
December 11, 2018On Friday, Grinnell filed a request for review with the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. If the NLRB grants the college’s request, it could undo our democratic election victory, and strip student workers in the U.S. of their right to unionize. We are disgusted and saddened by Grinnell’s decision to appeal.
Grinnell College Deals Fatal Blow to Civil Discourse… Again.
December 5, 2018On Wednesday, President Kington officially ran out of excuses for its refusal to speak with Union leadership, instead resorting to blatant lies. This is yet another chapter in a long series of mistruths peddled by the College.
Grinnell College Threatens Union Members in Latest Blow to Civil Discourse
November 30, 2018On Friday, after a successful labor action by UGSDW activists, Grinnell College made more baseless claims that jeopardize our campus’s essential freedoms.
Student Workers: We’re Stickin’ with the Union
November 27, 2018On Tuesday, ballots were cast and counted in the National Labor Relations Board’s secret ballot election determining whether student workers across campus want to be represented by UGSDW. We are excited to announce that we won the election by a five-to-one margin!
A Case for UGSDW for All
November 23, 2018UGSDW lays out a compelling case for voting YES on November 27, and explains why the college’s arguments amount to little more than fearmongering.
Statement on Nov. 19 Special Campus Memo
November 19, 2018Grinnell College has filed a motion to stay the union election and prevent student workers from voting. UGSDW is fighting tooth and nail to keep the election on track.
Statement on Nov. 12 Special Campus Memo
November 12, 2018On Monday, Grinnell College administration released yet another Special Campus Memo responding to UGSDW’s continued fight for worker’s rights. They are grasping at straws.
Student Workers Prevail as NLRB Directs Union Election
November 5, 2018On Monday, November 5, the Regional Director of the NLRB in Minneapolis published a decision about our pending unionization case, directing an election for November 27.
UGSDW Files for Election, Paving the Way for Campus-wide Union
October 8, 2018UGSDW filed a petition on Monday with the federal National Labor Relations Board, a first step towards a union election which would allow UGSDW to represent all student workers at Grinnell College. If more than 50% of the votes at the election are for the union, it will be certified, and the college will be required to start bargaining over wages, benefits, and workplace conditions.
Wage Increase for Dining Services in Academic Year 2018-2019
July 15, 2018GRINNELL, IOWA — UGSDW is pleased to announce that, as a result of our hard-fought Fall 2017 contract, base wage for Dining Services (D-hall, Spencer Grill, Catering) will be increased by 2.7 percent from $9.50 to $9.76 per hour. The maximum wage in Dining Services will be $11.56 an hour, accounting for experience bonuses and Student Leader status.
End-of-Year Financial Report
July 15, 2018GRINNELL, IOWA — UGSDW has released its end-of-year financial report for fiscal year 2018. The financial report details the union’s assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses from June 2017 through May 2018.
UGSDW Wins Reinstatement for Student Employees
July 14, 2018UGSDW won reinstatement of 146 wrongfully fired student dining employees, but much remains to be improved in the employment practices of Grinnell College. UGSDW will fight toward a campus-wide union to address problems across the campus.
A Response to President Kington
April 19, 2018Today President Kington sent out a Special Campus Memo addressing our ongoing unionization efforts. The memo is full of vague statements, and a few thinly-veiled threats. Notably absent is the recognition we have been fighting for: that student workers are employees and have the right to organize. The administration refuses to treat us as such; instead they advance an argument against unionization that is simply unsupported by the facts.
Grinnell’s Anti-worker Agenda
November 16, 2017In September, UGSDW announced a campaign to bring union representation to all student workers at Grinnell. We tried to work with the Grinnell administration to reach an agreement that would ensure students had the right to decide for themselves whether to unionize or not, free from interference and intimidation.
The Most Unionized Campus in America
September 20, 2017UGSDW announced Wednesday a new effort to unionize all student workers at Grinnell College. If successful, the union would triple the size of its bargaining unit and make Grinnell the only educational institution in the country to have every undergraduate worker represented by a union.
Student Dining Workers Ratify New Contract with Grinnell College
September 9, 2017UGSDW members voted unanimously Saturday to ratify a new two-year contract with Grinnell College, ending a months-long dispute over cost-of-living adjustments for dining hall employees. Beginning next week, wages will increase to $9.50 per hour from $9.25 per hour. Starting in July 2018, wages will increase again, in proportion to the raise received by other support staff at the college.
Members Reject Grinnell’s Final Offer — Again
August 27, 2017Press Release
Statement on the Closing of Bob’s Underground Cafe and Lyle’s Pub
August 26, 2017Press Release
End-of-Year Financial Report
June 6, 2017Press Release
Members Unanimously Reject College Proposal
May 17, 2017In a special meeting UGSDW members unanimously rejected the College’s final proposal for the 2017-2018 contract. The college offered a paltry ten cent raise, but only starting in 2018. The members have communicated to the college that, for now, they will not accept a wage below $9.60, a cost of living adjustment that matched the increase in Grinnell’s comprehensive fee for the 2017-18 academic year. The college has refused to recognize that the wages that we make go directly to paying for food and other amenities that we need to attend Grinnell, which only becomes harder and harder as tuition is increased year over year.
Grinnell’s Final Offer
May 15, 2017Today administrators with the College presented their final contract offer. While many of the Union’s original proposals, such as increased bonus tiers and better handling of health and safety issues, were included, the College’s proposal does not include any change to the current base wage of $9.25 an hour.
May Day Barbecue
April 27, 2017Join us at Cleveland Beach from 4:30–6:00 p.m. on Sunday April 30 (rain location: Loose Lounge) for a barbecue to celebrate May Day and International Workers’ Day. Come and enjoy hot dogs and other refreshments. Vegan and gluten-free options will be available.
2017–2018 Officer Elections
April 17, 2017UGSDW officer elections will be held on Saturday, May 6, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in JRC 209. All four Executive Board positions will be elected to a term of one year.
Equal Wage Protest a Success!
April 11, 2017On Monday, April 10, UGSDW members protested Grinnell’s treatment of high school dining workers. The union gathered over 200 signatures, and raised awareness of the college’s outrageous behavior.
Equal Wage Protest
April 8, 2017On Monday, April 10, UGSDW will be outside the dining hall protesting the College’s treatment of high school workers.
Grinnell, Stop Cheating Your Workers
April 4, 2017We hear a lot about Grinnell’s commitment to social responsibility. It’s plastered all over the College’s website and the glossy brochures it sends out every fall. But what does that commitment look like in practice?
UGSDW Endorses Summer White for SGA President
February 23, 2017Press Release
Experience Pay Bonuses
December 7, 2016Don’t miss the opportunity to earn experience pay for the Fall 2016 semester! Our contract requires that you work at least 110 hours this semester in order to qualify for a bonus. Hours worked before the contract went into effect count towards this amount.
UGSDW Begins Unionization of the Spencer Grill
November 27, 2016Press Release
First Contract Ratified!
September 27, 2016Union members today approved their first contract with Grinnell College, and the first in the nation between a private college or university and an undergraduate labor union.
Tentative Agreement Reached
September 25, 2016The Contract Bargaining Team today unanimously recommended the tentative collective bargaining agreement reached with Grinnell College.