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!
On Wednesday, April 8th, the UGSDW Executive Board sent an open letter to President Raynard Kington detailing concerns about Grinnell Colleges response to the coronavirus crisis. Read the letter below:
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GRINNELL, 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.
GRINNELL, 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.
In 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.
In 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.
Today 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.
Join 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.
On Monday, April 10, UGSDW will be outside the dining hall protesting the College’s treatment of high school workers.
Don’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.
