Indiana University's grad student labor coalition urges members against striking

In a departure from its months-long rhetoric, the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition's coordinating committee is now urging its members to vote this weekend against a labor strike on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus.

According to IGWC leadership, this recommendation comes after a new opportunity of dialogue between the coalition and IU administration about union representation on campus.

“We need more time basically right now to explore what seems like good faith negotiations with the Bloomington Faculty Council and see whether what the administration offers us via the Bloomington Faculty Council helps move us towards union recognition or if it's just another way to get around it,” Nora Weber, IGWC coordinating committee member, told The Herald-Times.

Provost's column:IU is committed to improving grad worker experience. We can do it without a strike

This weekend, IGWC members will weigh in on whether to resume the labor strike they had suspended last spring. If members vote to strike, hundreds of graduate workers, including many who teach undergraduate classes, could stop working on campus. The voting period will conclude on Monday at 5 p.m. with results released shortly afterwards.

In a recent H-T column, Provost Rahul Shrivastav highlighted changes to the graduate student experience and encouraged the coalition's members to not strike.

“I believe our goals are largely the same — to create at IU one of the nation’s leading research institutions for graduate education. I know this aspiration is within our reach if we choose to continue working together," Shrivastav wrote.

More:Indiana University gives grad workers all they've asked for — except a recognized labor union

Now, it seems like both the administration and coalition are going to try, once again, to find common ground.

IGWC’s bargaining committee will speak with the Bloomington Faculty Council and the Graduate and Professional Student Government about how it can gain representation on campus.

"We hope these conversations will open the door to partial union recognition before the semester is over. These negotiations are ongoing and will not be completed until after the September 26th strike deadline," the IGWC noted in its recent news release.

Last week, in response to an expansion of graduate student representation on campus, IGWC representative Katie Shy noted IU administrators were “hoping (for) the loss of momentum in our coalition and the dissolving of our movement into various committees.”

Even with the new dialogue opportunity, the coalition will not allow this to happen, according to Weber.

“What we're seeing now that's substantially different in our conversations with the administration is actually having representation as coalition, as union representation, on these bodies on campus — not just a group that the administration has sort of hand-picked and said ‘Well, here we found a couple of students,’” Weber said. “It is the union that is having a seat at the table. It is a union that is being recognized and given a say in things.”

Recently, the administration expanded graduate student representation through two committees. The Graduate Student Advisory Committee is a new group that will meet regularly with the graduate school dean and provost. It is described as a neutral environment where graduate students can raise issues and discuss solutions to improve their experience. President Pamela Whitten and Provost Shrivastav also supported Bloomington Faculty Council re-establishing the Student Academic Appointee Affairs Committee.

The administration has not publicly shared further details about who will serve on these committees, but Weber said the IGWC is working with BFC members about potential seats for recognized union representatives.

“We've seen from (the BFC) a willingness, at least from a large number of council members, to work in good faith with us towards union recognition,” Weber said.

As previously noted by IU spokesman Chuck Carney, the IU Board of Trustees, whose members continue to oppose the idea, is the ultimate decision-maker on student worker unionization. While the trustees give the final say on the matter, Weber argued union recognition support from the administration, such as President Whitten and Provost Shrivastav, would be a deciding move and could sway the board members’ stance.

IU provost, IGWC leadership urges against labor strike

In April, many student graduate workers went on a labor strike for four weeks, requesting union recognition from the IU administration and an official process to discuss benefits, higher wages and fee waivers.

Since then, IU has responded with changes directly mirroring IGWC's platform of demands. The university has significantly increased the minimum stipend and promised to have a periodic analysis of wages to ensure IU keeps pace with other Big Ten universities' offerings. Mandatory university and program-related fees, including the additional fee that international graduate workers had to pay, are now covered by the university. The administration has also promised to expand graduate workers' health and wellness policies and grievance pathways.

In a recent H-T column, Provost Rahul Shrivastav gave credit to "student advocates" for suggesting these graduate school improvements.

"Advocates rightfully called for increases in SAA stipends. They rightfully urged action on student fees. And they rightfully called for greater equity for international student SAAs. Action from the university on these topics, and many others, was overdue," Shrivastav wrote.

IGWC leadership have been adamant that these changes would not have happened if graduate workers did not begin organizing independently through a union. The administration has previously argued the newly formed task force has been the sole driver of these improvements.

While acknowledging graduate students were right about pushing for changes, Shrivastav noted the consequences of a work stoppage on campus.

"The consequences of a strike would be costly to our entire community, and most critically, for our undergraduate students, who — pending the extent of a work stoppage — could face major academic disruptions, financial implications and other significant ramifications," Shrivastav wrote.

Where does this leave graduate workers’ goal of union recognition?

Despite not supporting another labor strike, the IGWC leadership have affirmed the coalition’s overarching goal of union recognition. Entering a dialogue with campus representatives seems to be the best pathway right now to achieving that rather than a labor strike, Weber said.

“Over the next few months, (coordinating committee) members and union representatives will continue meeting with deans and department chairs to formalize the local role of the union rep, so it becomes standard practice for grads to be able to request the presence of a union rep in meetings related to our labor,” IGWC said via a news release.

Noting its previous pitfalls, the IU administration seems optimistic about a collaborative effort with its graduate workers.

"I understand the skepticism from those who may have initially questioned our willingness to act, but I hope the progress shown thus far demonstrates our good faith in seeking to permanently improve graduate education at IU, and to honor the personal and professional contributions of our SAAs," Shrivastav wrote.

In addition to the strike decision, IGWC members will vote on whether to endorse the coordinating committee's ability to set a strike date later in the semester if the dialogue between the coalition and campus representatives breaks down.

“We're still very hopeful that we will be able to achieve union recognition this semester,” Weber said.

IGWC's voting period begins Saturday afternoon and closes at 5 p.m. Monday.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Grad worker coalition urges 'no' vote on strike