'Signing under duress': Indiana University graduate workers decry sudden contract change

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify Indiana University graduate worker Sabina Ali signed the new student academic appointment contract.

Jessie Day-Lucore was in the middle of employee training when she was told she didn't yet have a position at Indiana University.

It was second-year grad student Day-Lucore's first job as a graduate worker. She was set to be an editorial assistant for the Journal of American History, a distinguished academic journal headquartered on IU's Bloomington campus. It was this journal, and others like it, that attracted Day-Lucore to IU for graduate school. When this opportunity sprung up just as her fellowship ended, it seemed like perfect timing.

She received the contract in late June, signed it immediately and began orientation. Just two weeks later, Day-Lucore's employer told her the contract was invalid. To officially secure her year-long appointment, she had to sign a new, redesigned agreement.

This contract is longer than those from the previous years and expands on IU's student academic appointee (SAA) policies, including the consequences for graduate workers who do not fulfill their responsibilities. To Day-Lucore and several other graduate workers who have been involved in the labor dispute on IU Bloomington's campus, this was a response to the strike earlier this spring.

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 reduction. In response, Provost Rahul Shrivastav announced a series of new initiatives, including a higher stipend, coverage of fees for graduate workers as well as a specialized task force on graduate education.

Administrators and the board of trustees have been steadfast in rejecting unionization efforts, leading to a months-long stalemate between the IU administration and the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition.

More:IU Bloomington grad workers will be paid more, charged less

When the new contracts were released, several graduate workers already had signed a previous version. Day-Lucore had one week to decide: sign the new contract or give up this position.

"It was really horrible, and, in a way, it was kind of humiliating," Day-Lucore said. "It felt like IU just sort of flexing its power, reminding us all that — well, they don't even think we're employees — but, in their eyes, we are just workers and they can just make us sign whatever they want."

Indiana University spokesman Chuck Carney said the contract has few substantive changes and reiterates IU's longstanding policies. Graduate workers claim the new contract is evidence of why they need representation through a labor union — to have a voice in changes to their working conditions.

What's different about IU's new student academic appointee contracts?

Carney said the contracts were redesigned following feedback from students and faculty with input from deans, department chairs and the Bloomington Faculty Council executive committee.

Carney said one of the substantive changes requires departments to specify and receive approval for SAA responsibilities. This oversight aims to ensure workload expectations do not infringe on graduate workers' primary role as students.

For some graduate students, this is a positive change. Graduate worker Zheng Zhou said this section better protects students against exploitation.

"There are lots of situations of labor abuse where students are kind of forced by coercive advisers to do work that is not covered in their programs or relevant to their dissertation or education. Now in the new contract, it is really specified what the students are expected to do," Zhou said. "I think with the new contract as a legal documentation, the student may have better leverage to fight against this sort of labor abuse."

The contract features a new section stating deans are authorized to prepare a supervisory plan for all appointees. As described by Carney, a Bloomington Faculty Council resolution from 1986 charged deans with ensuring each of their units provide assistant instructors with “teacher training, supervision and development.”

But according to the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition, this greatly hinders the relationship between graduate workers and their faculty advisers.

"These contracts turn faculty members into regular reviewers of your Canvas page — into essentially managers and not mentors of academic progress. It's a real departure from the research and teaching that faculty are brought here to do," IGWC Katie Shy said.

There's also substantial changes to the language surrounding a graduate worker's responsibilities. The previous contract notes a graduate worker's potential for reappointment depends on whether the graduate worker successfully fills their job duties. The new contract significantly expands on this with language from the Graduate Student Academic Appointees Guide. This change provides more transparency, Carney said.

In the new contract, part of that section now lists specific responsibilities, such as "conducting instruction as scheduled, reporting grades in a timely manner consistent with the syllabus and campus deadlines, and recording and storing grade information using methods consistent with the University's IT and data privacy policies and consistent with a school’s supervisory and training plan."

Shy said this is a deliberate response to the spring semester strike and upcoming IGWC vote for another strike next month. It also responds to the IGWC's previous plan to stop recording grades on Canvas, IU's learning management system.

Last semester:IU grad workers suspend strike, hundreds of faculty gather in emergency meeting

The new contract also touches upon termination of a graduate worker's appointment.

"The appointment is subject to termination by the department chairperson or dean or Provost for serious failure in assigned responsibilities or for conduct at severe variance with that normally expected of an individual having work responsibilities for the University,” the new contract reads.

According to Carney, this comes directly from long-standing faculty policy and is included in the contract for greater transparency.

The contract must be signed by the graduate worker, then go through a chain of approvals within the university, such as the department chair, school dean and finally the office of the vice provost for faculty and academic affairs.

As for Day-Lucore, who began working before she knew about or signed the new contract, Carney said the situation is rare. He said in those cases, a department may have been trying to act on fall appointments early. Regardless, Carney reaffirmed the graduate worker must sign the approved contract for this academic year.

IU Bloomington graduate workers 'don't have a choice,' one SAA says

Sabina Ali planned to continue her role as a managing editor at American Religion Journal, having signed the initial contract earlier this summer. When she was told she needed to sign the new version of the contract, Ali was hesitant but signed it, describing how she didn't want to lose her appointment, income and health insurance.

According to Ali, the new contract, and the redesign process in general, feels coercive and unethical.

"It's very much a response to the strike, (it's) very much retaliatory. I think it just really shows how vulnerable graduate workers are without a union if that kind of contract can just happen unilaterally without any consultation, any negotiation from us or the people we work with," Ali said, saying her employers were surprised about the new contract, too.

Ali noted her partner has full-time employment, so she isn't fully financially dependent on the income from her appointment. However, that isn't the case for many of her peers.

"I think that is especially why these contracts are coercive and are being signed under duress, because many of us don't have a choice, right? We can't just be like, 'These contracts are unethical, so I'm not gonna sign it.' We have to sign it or else we can't support ourselves," Ali said.

International students who are graduate workers are at a disadvantage in this regard. Zhou said he has to maintain full enrollment status, which is covered by the SAA contract. Without it, he wouldn't be able to remain in the United States.

"I don't really have any choice but to have to sign this. They gave me a very tight deadline. Otherwise, I will lose my stipend for the fall semester and also my international visa," Zhou said, noting both his primary income and international status would be in jeopardy without his appointment.

New contract will not impact vote to strike in fall, worker coalition claims

In a letter signed by 235 graduate workers, the IGWC claims the new contract is not valid because it was not freely signed by both parties.

"Rather, we have signed this document — the terms of which we disagree with — under duress," the letter, addressed to IU President Pamela Whitten, reads.

According to Ali, this is a prime example of what happens when workers are not given a seat at the table.

"IU needs to actually adhere to their own values of shared governance. Both graduate workers and faculty have clearly communicated that they want union recognition. Only a union would allow us to actually have any kind of power to bargain, to negotiate our contracts, our wages and other worker conditions-related things. We can see on a weekly basis that, without that, we're constantly being taken advantage of. I think it creates a harmful and toxic environment in this university," Ali said.

Ali, Zhou and Day-Lucore are among the graduate workers who have signed the letter. They all note this hasn't changed their resolve to vote in favor of another labor strike at the Bloomington campus.

"We technically are not barred from striking still, and we absolutely intend to go forward with the strike vote in September," Shy said.

Contact Rachel Smith at rksmith@heraldt.com or @RachelSmithNews on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: IU Bloomington grad workers say new contract was signed under duress