graduate workers

According to Purdue University, there are some 5,500 graduate student workers on its West Lafayette campus. Roughly 200 graduate workers are on the Purdue Fort Wayne and Purdue Northwest campuses.

In addition to rejecting the strike, union members accepted the coordinating committee’s recommendation to allow it to set a future strike date if negotiations with the university break down.

IU Bloomington is waiving a fee it charged international graduate workers, which was one of the key demands of the Graduate Workers Coalition.

While the portion of faculty in tenure-track positions has declined nationwide, Provost Shrivastav said more full-time professors can further IU’s objectives.

The IU Graduate Workers Coalition chose Sept. 25 for the vote on whether to strike. That day also is the add/drop deadline for semester-long classes.

The university will increase minimum stipends for graduate students to $22,000 and will also cover the $1,435 those students pay in mandatory fees along with course-specific fees. 

The new contract requires faculty to monitor graduate students more thoroughly. The administration says the rule is meant to prevent graduate students from being overworked, but some worry it will be used to intimidate strikers.

James Wimbush said he wants to focus all of his attention as Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs. The role as dean of the University Graduate School will be split between campuses.

The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition has claimed that their guidance was cited by administration, but not heeded.

Around 1,000 graduate student workers at Indiana University’s Bloomington campus are on strike to demand the school recognize them as a union.