The following press release was sent to the Bloomingtonian Monday from the Indiana Grad Workers Coalition:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IGWC-UE Meets With Grad Task Force, Requests Union Recognition Be Put on Agenda
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. [July 18, 2022] — Members of the Indiana Graduate Workers
Coalition-United Electrical Workers (IGWC-UE) formally requested today that union
recognition be put on the agenda of the Indiana University Bloomington task force on the future
of graduate education.
Union recognition has emerged as a key issue in response to longstanding concerns about
graduate student working conditions on campus. In spring of 2022 over 1,000 graduate workers
at IU Bloomington went on strike for union recognition. Graduate workers teach classes, run
labs, conduct research, and work in studios. Coalition members assert that inequitable working
conditions are damaging undergraduate education, graduate worker well-being, and university
competitiveness.
The IGWC-UE currently represents more than 1,800 graduate workers at IU Bloomington who
are planning to hold a strike authorization vote in the fall if the union is not recognized.
IGWC-UE members have been consistently clear that any solutions offered that do not include a
pathway to union recognition are unacceptable.
While upper administration has so far declined to officially recognize the union, IU Provost
Rahul Shrivastav assembled a task force in April to discuss the future of graduate education on
the Bloomington campus. Representatives of the IGWC-UE met with the task force Monday,
and formally requested that union recognition be put on the agenda for their next meeting.
Meeting attendee and Coalition member Peter Cho, a Ph.D. student in Jacobs School of Music
said, “Graduate workers on campus have made clear union recognition is central to graduate
education. University administration needs to make sure this is part of the task force’s
conversation.”
Several other graduate student groups were invited to the task force meeting as well, including
the African American and African Diaspora Studies Graduate Association and the Media School
Graduate Association. In an email, MSGA executive members responded to the invitation by
declaring the association’s support for graduate worker unionization, and asked that the
administration engage the IGWC-UE with the goal of union recognition in mind.
About the IGWC-UE
Graduate workers are employed as Associate Instructors, Research Assistants, Graduate
Assistants, and Faculty Assistants on the Bloomington campus. They teach hundreds of
courses as primary instructors, conduct research in labs, and perform as artists and musicians.
IGWC-UE submitted nearly 1,600 union membership cards to the Board of Trustees requesting a
union election in December of 2021. The Board rejected that request. The union now claims
more than 1,800 members among the 2,500 graduate employees.
The United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) is an independent,
democratic union representing some 30,000 employees in a variety of industries. The UE’s
motto is: “The members run this union.”
For further questions and correspondence, contact Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition
media correspondent Katie Shy ([email protected], 919-622-8648).
Social Media:
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The IGWC-UE sent the following press release last week as well:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IUB-AAUP Objects to Fall Semester Contingency Plan Directives, IGWC-UE Calls on
Faculty to Refuse Enforcement
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. [July 13, 2022] — The American Association of University Professors
Bloomington chapter expressed dissent regarding a directive from the Indiana University
administration that calls on faculty to make “contingency plans” for the upcoming fall semester
and pending graduate worker strike.
A resolution passed by the IUB-AAUP calls on faculty not to make such plans and asks the IU
administration to honor the overwhelming vote by IU Bloomington faculty in May in support of
graduate worker unionization.
Nora Weber, a Ph.D. candidate in sociology and IGWC-UE member, said the contingency plans
threaten academic freedom and shared governance, and create additional and unnecessary unpaid
labor for faculty and staff. “Faculty have repeatedly, clearly, and democratically voiced support
for our union, and this resolution underscores that commitment,” she added.
The IGWC-UE echoes the IUB-AAUP’s requests that faculty members refuse to create or
enforce contingency plans or engage in other activities designed to weaken the effects of a work
stoppage. The IGWC-UE also asks faculty to decline to participate in any formal or informal
meetings with IU administration related to graduate worker appointments. Weber explains, “We
are disappointed to see that the IUB administration continues to pressure faculty and undermine
shared governance.”
Jared Meisinger, a Ph.D. student in the media school and IGWC-UE member agreed, adding that
the plans ignore the fact that graduate worker labor is fundamental to IU’s stability. “These
contingency plan mandates are impossible. Graduate labor is necessary to make IU Bloomington
run,” Meisinger said.
The IUB-AAUP resolution also responds to instructions from the IU administration that faculty
and graduate students must adhere to new supervisory plans, stating the protocols are focused on
“surveillance and control rather than trust and professionalism.” It argues that faculty and
graduate workers cannot be mandated to use specific learning management systems such as
Canvas.
The resolution asserts that language in new contracts for graduate workers, such as threats to
withhold pay and health insurance, responds solely to the spring 2022 graduate worker strike and
does not address any concerns of the IU Bloomington faculty or graduate workers. During the
spring strike, over 1,000 graduate workers at the IU Bloomington campus withheld labor for four
weeks for union recognition.
The IGWC-UE announced a strike reauthorization vote on or before September 26, 2022, should
the IU administration fail to recognize the union.
“If the IU administration and Board of Trustees truly care about undergraduate and graduate
education, and the livelihoods of the people who make up the IU community, they will recognize
our union and avoid another strike,” Sabina Ali, a Ph.D. student in religious studies and
IGWC-UE member said.
About the IGWC-UE
Graduate workers are employed as Associate Instructors, Research Assistants, Graduate
Assistants, and Faculty Assistants on the Bloomington campus. They teach hundreds of
courses as primary instructors, conduct research in labs, and perform as artists and musicians.
IGWC-UE submitted nearly 1,600 union membership cards to the Board of Trustees requesting a
union election in December of 2021. The Board rejected that request. The union now claims
more than 1,800 members among the 2,500 graduate employees.
The United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) is an independent,
democratic union representing some 30,000 employees in a variety of industries. The UE’s
motto is: “The members run this union.”
