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Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition Demands “Whitten Goes, Union Grows” in New Campaign
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—On Friday, November 1st, the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC) delivered a letter to the Chair of Indiana University Board of Trustees that demands the termination of Pamela Whitten’s Presidency, the revocation of IU’s new Expressive Activity Policy (UA-10), and the establishment of a formal bargaining agreement with IGWC.
The letter demands a response by November 20th, or the IGWC “will move forward with [its] own objectives for ensuring the university remains a world-class educational and research institution.” The IGWC has named its latest campaign “Whitten Goes, Union Grows.”
You can read the full letter here.
IGWC delivered the letter only after it made numerous attempts to meet with upper administration regarding the management of the university and working conditions for graduate laborers. The administration has ignored all attempts by the IGWC, who represents a majority of graduate workers on campus, to open a dialogue with administrators about stipends that are 33% below a living wage, as determined by the MIT Living Wage Calculator. President Whitten has never responded to any IGWC letters since starting her presidency in 2021.
“We’ve tried and tried and tried again,” said Madeleine Meldrum, a graduate worker in the Sociology Department and one of the union members who delivered Friday’s letter. “Not only are we fighting for union recognition and a living wage, we are also now fighting for freedom of speech and assembly on this campus. We are now fighting for the removal of a university president who would subject its students to police brutality and sniper rifles.”
Back in April, President Whitten directed state police to respond to students peacefully protesting the war in Gaza. Since then, the administration drafted a new Expressive Activity Policy, UA-10, that overturned decades of campus freedom of speech precedent and banned many activities performed by both war protesters and union members during the year. The new policy is currently being challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union.
“This policy is contrary to the spirit of free expression that is so central to the research and teaching missions of IU,” the IGWC demand letter reads. “The selective enforcement of this rule has unfairly targeted speakers on the basis of the content of their speech and not on reasonable time, place, and manner grounds. This failure to enforce the policy neutrally has weakened the credibility of IU as an institution: the administration's unprincipled and radical politicization of this policy is contrary to IU's commitments to truth and fair and free discourse.”
UA-10 was just another misstep in a long line of unpopular decisions made by Whitten in the 2023–24 school year. The suspension of Professor Abdulkader Sinno, the cancellation of the exhibition of renowned Palestinian-American and IU alumna Samia Halaby, and the lack of transparency and communication in the potential severing of the Kinsey Institute from the university led the IGWC, the Graduate and Professional Student Government, and a dozen other graduate student associations to pass formal votes of “No Confidence” in Whitten’s administration during the Spring semester. The Bloomington Faculty Council, the governing body for IU faculty, followed with their own “No Confidence” vote, which passed 827-29 against Whitten on April 16th.
“Whitten has repeatedly shown us contempt with her unwillingness to listen to the IU community,” said Ashish Nambiar, a graduate worker in the Department of Biology. “If she actually cared about the students, staff, and faculty at IU, we would have had union recognition a long time ago. The only way this campus can move forward is if Whitten is gone.”
In the event that the Trustees do not respond to the demand letter, the IGWC will kick off a new campaign by holding a rally, in conjunction with faculty, staff, and undergraduates, on Friday, December 6th, at noon.
“We want to use this opportunity to build an even bigger coalition of organizations on campus who love this university and hate how Whitten has dragged IU’s reputation through the mud,” said Elijah Beaton, a graduate worker in the History Department. “We invite other organizations to join us in planning this event, whether they are groups of undergraduates, faculty, or staff members. It’s a moment for us all to join together and put IU back into the hands of those who actually care for the university.”
IGWC Coordinating Committee Denounces IU Administration’s Reaction Against Peaceful Protestors
Late in the evening of Sunday, August 25, a peaceful candlelight vigil outside the Sample Gates to mourn the loss of free speech on our campus was met with repression by IU administrators and police. Student and faculty participants were charged with personal misconduct for expressive activity on campus between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. The free expression policy was passed by the Board of Trustees in the middle of the summer break to avoid passing this unpopular rule while most students were on campus. The policy is overbroad and already the subject of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Students are back on campus. Graduate workers are back on campus. And the vigils will continue. The Coordinating Committee of the IGWC invites members and students to attend these vigils, which will be held weekly in collaboration with other campus partners every Sunday at 11 p.m. until our rights are restored to us.
The university administration continues to threaten our right for free speech and expression, not only by limiting and targeting our protest rights with the expressive activity policy, but also in our workplace: the classroom, through the new “intellectual diversity” law, SEA202. This law does not provide intellectual diversity, but rather subjects instructors – including graduate workers – to unfair scrutiny on a political basis. Our freedom of speech is under threat both inside and outside the classroom.
Our administration will not protect the educational mission of IU. They care only about the policing of speech, the creation of a climate of fear, and the disciplining of graduate workers and student activists. We as graduate workers have organized not only to ensure ourselves a living wage, but also to provide our students the best education we possibly can. The free expression policy and SEA 202 severely limit our ability to educate our students. We will continue to fight for our students’ education.
Free expression is a labor issue. Our ability to organize a union and seek collective bargaining is a guaranteed right under IU code HR 12-20, but administrators have refused this right. Graduate workers are still not paid a living wage and have no legal pathway to union recognition. Without union recognition or bargaining rights, graduate workers must sign our contracts without any say over their pay and benefits. We have depended upon our rights to free expression to picket, leaflet, hang flyers, and speak to graduate workers on campus. We will continue to seek recognition and raises through the means available to us, and we will continue to ensure that graduate workers have all the rights afforded to them under applicable national and state laws, IU bylaws, and the U.N. Charter on Human Rights–which guarantees the right for all employees to form a labor union. We reserve the right to withhold our labor, which no policy can take from us. We will continue to fight for organized labor.
The IGWC welcomes new members to sign a union card and urges our members and all of the IU community to get involved in the fight to reclaim our right to the university. Those in the administration who stand against our rights must go. Those who oppose the educational mission must not be allowed to impede it. But more importantly, those who do support the world-class research and teaching that IU is famous for must stand up and fight back.
IGWC, Faculty Rapid Response Group, Jewish Voice for Peace Indiana, and IU Divestment Coalition Co-Host Rally and Force IU Board of Trustees to Adjourn Meeting
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—On Friday, June 14th, IU students, faculty, staff, and members of the Bloomington community rallied both inside and outside the Board of Trustees meeting with one clear demand: terminate Pamela Whitten as President of IU. With repeated calls for Whitten’s termination and divestment from military investments, the rally caused so much disruption that the Trustees adjourned the meeting.
The event, hosted by Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC), the Faculty Rapid Response Group, Jewish Voice for Peace Indiana, and the IU Divestment Coalition, brought together diverse voices who no longer trust President Whitten’s ability to run the university. Faculty members called out Whitten’s erosion of tenure, attacks on academic freedom, use of violence on campus, and discriminatory enforcement of questionable policies. Students derided Whitten forusing university funding to invest in companies that profit from Israel’s genocidal actions in Gaza.
“Through its partnerships with Crane, a weapons manufacturer, IU is actively supporting the worst human rights violation of this century,” IU Divestment Coalition member Bryce Greene said. “This has to be addressed.”
Speakers expressed outrage that the damage Whitten has done to IU’s 200 year reputation will dramatically damage our ability to attract top quality faculty and students, leading to a decline in both funding and respect for the excellence of IU’s degrees.
Others pointed to Whitten’s record as a sign that she is not the right person to lead the university into the future.
“SEA 202, which goes into effect here on July 1, will effectively end tenure, institute a surveillance system that targets instructors of color, and initiate a Florida style witch-hunt on diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Russ Skiba, Professor Emeritus of the School of Education. “We need a serious leader who can protect faculty and students from the harms 202 will bring. Time and again, from her failure to protect Dr. Caitlin Bernard to the racially suspect targeting of a Black leader of the encampment, Bryce Greene, President Whitten has shown she is not interested in protecting civil and human rights. It is time for the Trustees to find a leader more in tune with the needs and values of the IU community.”
Still, rally participants were pleased to have affected the Trustees’ meeting.
“It’s clear they hear us,” said Matthew Rodriguez, a graduate worker and organizer of the event. “Now, they need to listen. We have not asked for additional committees, administrators, or trust-building exercises. We have asked that the Trustees terminate Pamela Whitten’s presidency.”
The IGWC led the charge in calling for Whitten’s resignation when the union passed a vote of no confidence in the administration back in February. A dozen graduate student associations, along with the Graduate and Professional Student Government, passed similar resolutions before the Bloomington Faculty Council followed suit in their landslide April 16 vote.
President Whitten’s fiscal mismanagement, almost continual conflict with faculty and students, and arbitrary and unconstitutional attacks on free expression have led to no-confidence votes, calls for her resignation, and condemnation from virtually every academic unit at IUB. Yet administrators are scrambling to shore up confidence in Whitten: hiring outside investigations, making calls for shared governance that Whitten and her administration has undermined, or creating entirely new administrative positions intended to act as liaisons between the administration and members of the community.
“These strategies are a farce,” another IGWC organizer Elijah Beaton said. “Organizations across campus have made it clear that there can be no improvement until Whitten is removed from office. Today the Board of Trustees decided not only to allow Whitten to continue damaging IU as its President, but even applauded Whitten’s ‘bold initiatives.’ They had the power and the platform to make the right decision. We expect better from IU’s highest level of administration than to applaud a President who received 93% votes of no confidence and who has made IU a national embarrassment.”
The coalition building of today’s rally is indicative that many are ready to see new leadership and a restoration of IU’s reputation.
“Indiana University is a serious and highly respected institution, both in our state and nationally,” said Anne Kavalerchik from Jewish Voice for Peace Indiana. “It’s time to end the chaos that Whitten has brought to this campus and replace her with the leadership IU deserves.”
Indiana University Grad Workers Coalition Endorses John McGlothlin III for IU Board of Trustees
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—On Monday, June 3, the Organizing Committee for the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC) voted unanimously to endorse Indiana University Board of Trustees candidate John McGlothlin III. McGlothlin has publicly endorsed graduate worker rights.
“Grad workers should have the right to organize, vote, and collective bargain,” his official campaign website states.
In addition to being a powerful voice for graduate worker union recognition, McGlothlin emphasizes the importance of shared governance and academic freedom.
Despite the Bloomington Faculty Council’s historic vote of “no confidence” in President Whitten, the Board of Trustees’ chair W. Quinn Buckner issued on behalf of the Trustees a statement in defense of Whitten and her administration. McGlothlin criticizes the Trustees’ unwavering support.
“Buckner’s declaration indicates a yawning disconnect between current trustees and broad swathes of IU’s stakeholders,” McGlothlin wrote in an open letter. “As fiduciaries, trustees must take repeated, serious grievances regarding the administration and university policies to heart, and must consider appropriate responses. Failing to do so is failing in one’s fiduciary duty, as is hastily deferring to authorities at the university or statehouse.”
McGlothlin, who currently works in the financial sector in Austin, TX, earned both his MA (2011) and PhD (2016) at Indiana University, Bloomington. His campaign for the Board of Trustees stresses four “focus areas” for IU: a commitment to serving the needs of faculty and staff, developing innovative solutions to problems that IU and higher education are facing, giving all those in the IU community a say in the university’s operations, and making education affordable and accessible.
“I have found that the best, most innovative ideas are the product of open, honest debates,” McGlothlin wrote in his candidate statement. “I am committed to dedicating the time, research, and engagement required to ensuring the Board develops the best possible outcomes for IU’s vast community of stakeholders.”
Anyone who holds any degree from IU is eligible to vote in the Board of Trustees election, which ends on June 28. Those eligible are encouraged to vote at the 2024 IU Trustee Election website.
Withhold Your Donations to IU: A Statement to Donors
President Pamela Whitten’s administration unleashed state police onto peaceful protesters in Dunn Meadow, a space on Indiana University’s campus revered for its dedication to free speech. The violent scenes from Dunn Meadow over the past week, which featured state police pulverizing peaceful protesters and snipers taking aim atop the student union building, have made Indiana University a local, state, and national embarrassment.
Over her tenure, President Whitten has shown that she has no respect for democracy, shared governance, or free speech. Many students, faculty, and staff have long pointed out these failures of the administration, but few, if any, would have expected a militarized assault on students exercising these basic principles.
These students are fighting for the people of Gaza and an end to the genocide there, IU’s financial divestment from “Israel” and adherence to BDS, and an end to IU’s partnership with Crane. Protestors have followed the 55-year-old university protocols for protesting in Dunn Meadow. The administration’s overnight, “ad hoc” changes to those policies constitute a discriminatory attack on free speech.
Everyone but the administration recognizes that. Despite one’s particular political viewpoints, one has the right to voice those positions. The brave protesters at the encampment in Dunn Meadow, mostly students, should have the right to do so without weapons aimed at them.
The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition Coordinating Committee is calling on everyone who donates to IU to withhold donations to the university until we receive confirmation that the police will no longer be used to enforce “ad hoc” policies at Dunn Meadow and until President Whitten and Provost Rahul Shrivastav resign or are fired.
We ask donors to consider donating money to other causes instead. Since more than 55 people have been arrested, you may donate to the bail fund. You may also donate money toward supplies or food for those at the encampment.
At the very least, we ask donors to pause donations to put pressure on the Board of Trustees to end Whitten’s administration. Please share this information with anyone you know who donates money to Indiana University.
IGWC Coordinating Committee Denounces IU Administration’s Violence Against Peaceful Protestors
Urgent Statement on the Escalation at Dunn Meadow
April 25, 2024
The Coordinating Committee of the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC) stands indignantly against the brutality exercised upon peaceful demonstrators at Dunn Meadow today, April 25th, by the administration of the President Pamela Whitten. Inviting Indiana State Police on the Indiana University campus to attack a peaceful protest is a violation of the most basic principles of academic freedom. This is not merely an instance of policy misstep but a glaring revelation of systemic rot—an administration forsaken by trust, ousted by its faculty, and now, a perpetrator of aggression against its own students.
Among those violently arrested were some of our own IGWC student organizers who were peacefully assembled on Indiana University property.
We are disappointed by every single IU administrator who failed to prevent this police violence and brutality upon students they are charged with mentoring and protecting.
The brute arrests of our faculty and students, the suffocation of free speech, the trampling of assembly rights within the span of a few hours—all under the veil of “order”—unmask a regressive regime wielding its might to silence dissent. These are not the acts of leaders but the desperate clutches of those who have been repudiated by the very community they claim to serve.
The vote of no confidence levied upon President Pamela Whitten, Provost Rahul Shrivastav, and Vice Provost Carrie Docherty by IGWC and the faculty at large was a clarion call—a demand for transformation. Instead, we are met with the clangor of chains and the chill of cells. No longer can we stand idle; our solidarity is with the brave souls who exercise their First Amendment rights by standing for Palestine, for divestment from cruelty, and for the humanity that Indiana University seeks to ignore.
Our demands are unequivocal.
We demand the following immediate actions from Indiana University’s administration:
The unconditional release of all individuals arrested during the non-violent protest and the dropping of all charges.
A public apology to those detained and to the university community for the excessive and unjust actions taken.
An immediate halt to the use of police force against peaceful demonstrators.
The resignation of the three administrators for whom the faculty and graduate students have no confidence: President Pamela Whitten, Provost Rahul Shrivastav, and Vice Provost Carrie Docherty.
The end of the Crane partnership.
Financial divestment from “Israel” and adherence to BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions).
We reiterate that the disdain shown by the university administration towards peaceful demonstrators is precisely why we stand firm in our vote of no confidence. An institution that chooses violence over dialogue and force over freedom is one that betrays its mission and its people.
We call upon our community allies, academic comrades, and guardians of civil liberties to join us in condemning these actions and supporting our non-negotiable right to peaceful protest. We will not be silenced, we will not be intimidated, and we will continue to stand for justice.
Our spirit is unbreakable; our cause is righteous. We will not be muted; we will not falter. Together, we rise.
Signed,
The IGWC Coordinating Committee
Other Statements Made in Support of the Peaceful Protests and Calls for the Resignation of IU Administrators:
IU Won’t Fund Student Media: Stand with the Indiana Daily Student
Last Thursday, during the same week when hundreds of graduate instructors went on strike for union recognition and a living wage, the Indiana Daily Student (IDS) announced a walkout for Thursday, April 25, when its members will protest the administration’s looming threat to eliminate its funding.
It is no coincidence that organizations all across campus, from the Bloomington Faculty Council (BFC) to the IDS, are expressing frustration at this university’s administration. President Pamela Whitten and her administration continually ignore the members of this university and threaten its constitutive institutions we all hold so dear.
It’s also no coincidence that a university administration that so scorns democracy would also dismantle its journalism.
Now, as graduate students and faculty see the administration blatantly ignore the will of the people they supposedly serve, IDS suspects the same will happen to its journalism:
“This semester, a new IU Media School committee aimed to find solutions for student media’s financial issues, including the IDS, IUSTV and WIUX. While we [IDS] wholeheartedly support the committee, recent discussions have led us to believe the university is not interested in reinvesting in student media, as the committee recommends, and does not have the best interest of student media in mind.”
“For years, the IU administration — now under President Pamela Whitten and Provost Rahul Shrivastav — has failed to adequately support student media, regardless of which administration occupies Bryan Hall. This issue predates the current administration, but we’ve reached the breaking point now.”
The IGWC stands with the IDS, and we encourage all our members to contact everyone you know to let everyone know that the Indiana University Board of Trustees and administration no longer care for shared governance, democracy, journalism, or the members of this university. With the IDS, we share the urgency of its situation and the administration’s upcoming decision on student media.
“Unless we [IDS] take action, we could lose valued professional staff, the print paper, student pay or other valuable pieces that make the IDS thrive. We cannot produce investigations holding powerful people to account, write local features on issues Bloomington residents care about or be capable of producing the awards that this university touts as shining, tangible outcomes for its prospective students without adequate investment.”
“We do not know the exact timeline for this decision, but we know it’s soon and we’re running out of time.”
Furthermore, we ask our members and supporters to add this to the running list of injustices that led to the overwhelming votes of no confidence in the first place.
Signed,
The IGWC Coordinating Committee
Indiana University Grad Workers Join Statewide Coalition With Other Universities
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—On Friday, April 19, the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC) ended a three-day strike, which brought hundreds of graduate workers, faculty, staff, undergraduate students, and local community and union supporters to the picket lines at Indiana University.
The three-day strike follows a historic vote of no confidence on Tuesday, April 16, when Bloomington faculty voted by overwhelming margins that they had no confidence in IU President Pamela Whitten (93%), Provost Rahul Shrivastav (91%), and Vice-Provost Carrie Docherty (75%). Prior to the faculty’s vote, the IGWC, 12 graduate student associations, and the Graduate and Professional Student Government all passed votes of no confidence in President Whitten. On Tuesday evening, the IU Board of Trustees ignored the votes and reaffirmed its commitment to Whitten and her administration.
The IGWC will devote its resources and experience to building a coalition of graduate workers at universities throughout Indiana to organize to demand union recognition and a living wage. Graduate workers at Purdue make a base stipend of about $20,000 on 10-month contracts in West Lafayette, where the annual cost of living is $40,000. Graduate workers at IU Indianapolis have no campus-wide base stipend and continue to pay the student fees that the IGWC pressured IU Bloomington to eliminate following our Spring 2022 strike.
“Due to the less-than-living wage, graduate workers at Purdue skip medications, utilities services, sometimes eat spoiled food to make ends meet,” Andy Lee, a graduate worker in the Department of Biological Sciences and organizer with Graduate Rights and Our Wellbeing (GROW) at Purdue, said. “This is unacceptable. We believe the university should be a place that supports everyone- including international students, first generation graduate students, graduate students with families, and other groups of traditionally marginalized communities within higher education. A work environment that only allows some of us to succeed is a failure.”
At IU Indianapolis, graduate workers suffer from a lack of uniform protections or assurances. The IUPUI split has been used to justify worsened conditions and uncertainty: Stipends often vary from department to department; Graduate workers routinely have their funding discontinued, international workers lack adequate and certain sources of income; Graduate workers have gone into medical debt due to inadequate coverage. With the rising cost of living in Indianapolis and stipends that don’t keep track, graduate workers at IU Indianapolis are struggling to support themselves in their programs. IUI’s vision is a campus that promotes “cutting-edge research, community support, [and] a better future.” However, IU Indy has left its graduate workers behind in the process.
“Our membership is working to build coalition with graduate worker leaders at these institutions and eager to expand our future efforts to coordinate with campuses across the state,” IGWC Organizing Coordinator Zara Anwarzai said. “We all are facing a shared struggle, against universities which are looking less and less like educational institutions and more like corporations. Graduate researchers and instructors produce world-class research and do a significant portion of the teaching labor at these schools. All the while, graduate workers are going into debt and selling their blood to make ends meet. Graduate workers across the state deserve their fair share and are preparing to fight for it alongside us.”
The IGWC is calling on graduate workers at universities across Indiana to start organizing and join our growing coalition by contacting us at indianagradworkers@gmail.com.
Grad Worker Strike Quick Guide
Our Organizing Committee and General Membership overwhelmingly endorse voting YES to strike. This comes after months (even years) of reaching out to meet with the administration to discuss union recognition and a living wage to no avail. Over the past decade, the only campus-wide raises we received were in response to strikes or threats to strike. Unfortunately, the IU admin has left our members no choice but to strike to make our demands clear: We deserve dignified, competitive, and fair working conditions.
This guide contains helpful resources and tips for grad workers across campus to use in preparation for the strike. Please contact us at indianagradworkers@gmail.com to be put in contact with a Department Organizer in your area for any questions.
Instructional labor during the strike
The goal of the strike is to stop all instructional labor (teaching, grading, proctoring, office hours, etc.) on April 17, 18, and 19. This means all grad workers who engage in instructional labor who plan to strike should plan accordingly. All other SAAs and fellows are asked to refuse to engage in instructional labor in the event that they are asked to do so.
Talking to your students
We encourage clear communication with undergraduate students about the upcoming strike. Undergraduates should know when classes will be canceled, why we are striking, and that our strike is an act of support for their education. They should know that grades and comments may be delayed as a result of the strike, if that applies in your case.
You can share this Undergraduate Strike FAQ with your students.
In our last strike, we found that undergraduates were extremely supportive of our strike, and, despite the administration’s pleas, almost no grad instructors were reported for striking. If you are worried about a case like this, do remember that you can always “call in sick” to work that day rather than directly tell your students that you have chosen to go on strike.
Talking to your supervisors
We have also found that almost all faculty are neutral or outwardly supportive when it comes to the actions of the IGWC, including striking. Many of our members have been straightforward with their intentions to strike with their openly supportive supervisors. Others prefer a bit more discretion and plan to “call in sick” to work during the strike. We support members’ decisions for what feels like the safest option which still allows them to stand up for themselves by striking.
The safest guidance we can offer, for communicating with both students and faculty, is to not use official university communications (like IU email or Canvas) to indicate that you are striking or considering striking. Instead, this message is best communicated in person.
Research, administrative work, and hourly work
Many of the grad workers who signed our strike pledge do non-instructional labor on campus, and we ask that they (1) avoid scabbing (i.e., performing the labor of instructional strikers) and (2) join us on the picket lines.
If you are in a position to safely strike from your research or administrative duties (e.g., you have a supportive supervisor, your entire lab has a shared research plan) without compromising your own dissertation project (e.g., killing one of your own experiments to only your detriment), then we encourage you to do so.
We are not encouraging hourly workers to strike, given that this will result in the direct loss of pay. We do not want any of our members to lose pay during the strike.
Note: These guidelines were developed following over 500 conversations with SAAs and hourly workers across campus before the strike pledge was released.
Joining the picket lines
We want our pickets to reflect the strength of our support. All members, friends, and supporters are encouraged to take at least one (ideally more!) shift on the picket line if they are able to do so. Sign up for picket shifts here.
The current picket schedule is as follows:
Tuesday: IGWC Rally in support of the faculty Vote of No Confidence, IU Auditorium, from 1:30pm to 3pm
Wednesday: Ballantine Hall, from 10am to 3pm
Thursday: Global and International Studies Building (GISB), from 10am to 3pm
Friday: Woodburn Hall, from 10am to 3pm
Picket shifts are from 10am to 12pm and from 1pm to 3pm, with lunch at the picket site from 12pm to 1pm, each day. Any changes to the picket schedule (e.g., due to weather) will be communicated via email and text. If you are interested in being a picket captain, you can indicate your interest on the form above. All picket captains will be asked to attend one training.
Common concerns
We want our members to feel equipped with information about this strike, how it relates to our broader strategy, and common concerns about international worker visa risks, threats of retaliation, and more. Here is a detailed FAQ that addresses these topics.
Talking to other supporters
There are so many ways to support the strike. Join the picket lines, donate to our IU Day Counter-Fundraiser, or send a letter to President Whitten asking her to grant our demand to have a union election.
More information about our union, our current strike, our May 2022 strike, and our victories is available on our website.
The organizers of this strike feel lucky to be part of a union with members so brave and so committed to union recognition and a living wage. Together, we will continue making IU a better place to teach, research, and live.
Faculty Support for the Grad Employee Strike
We encourage all faculty to show their support for the grad employee strike by canceling or rescheduling classes or moving courses off-campus or online during the three days of the strike (April 17, 18, & 19).
For graduate seminars, we encourage faculty to discuss with class members alternative settings or adjustments to syllabi.
Please use the cancellation or changes in venue or delivery mode as an opportunity to discuss with your students the conditions of graduate employees and the administration’s refusal to communicate or bargain with the IGWC.
We are not interested in hindering the academic progress of graduate employees, including exams and research activities.
We understand that faculty may have long-planned and single-occasion events such, as talks and invited speakers, that we do not seek to disrupt. Administrative activities and faculty meetings are not currently the target of the strike. We encourage faculty, instructors, and staff to seek alternate locations for events if they are scheduled to be held in a picketed building (Wednesday at Ballentine; Thursday at GISB; Friday at Woodburn).
The IGWC encourages visible displays of solidarity from faculty with the goal of stopping routine instructional activity, emptying classrooms, and enlarging picket lines.
Indiana University Grad Workers Endorse Strike. Faculty To Vote “No Confidence” In President And Provost
The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC) endorsed a call for a three-day strike at its general membership meeting on Sunday, April 14. All 1,300 union members will now vote on whether to strike for three days, Wednesday through Friday, April 17-19.
In January, the IGWC submitted 1,300 union cards to IU President Pamela Whitten, representing a majority of graduate employees. The IGWC asked Indiana University to hold a union election and bargain with the union. Those communications went unanswered, as did several more follow-up emails and letters. A copy of the IGWC letter can be found here.
“It seems that the policy of Indiana University is an absolute silence when it comes to discussing wages, benefits, and working conditions with the organization that graduate employees have chosen as their representative,” explained IGWC Coordinating Committee member Sam Smucker, a PhD student in the Media School. “Frankly, it’s a shameful stance for a major educational institution.”
IGWC led a four-week strike of graduate workers in 2022 which resulted in wage increases. Yearly salary minimums rose from $15,000 to $22,000 during the year of the strike. And the IU Administration eliminated many fees that grad employees were required to pay. However, many of those gains have been lost to inflation, and the MIT Living Wage Calculator now pins the cost of living for a single person in Bloomington, Indiana, at $41,441.
At the same time, Indiana University faculty have petitioned for a no confidence vote in President Pamela Whitten, Provost Rahul Shrivastav, and Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Carrie Docherty. That vote will be held on Tuesday, April 16, the day before the graduate employee strike begins.
One reason faculty initiated the no-confidence vote concerns shared governance. Petitioners cite a vote of the full faculty in April 2022 to endorse a pathway for the IU’s recognition of a graduate worker union. The final count tallied 1,404 in favor to 509 against. The administration refused to act on the faculty’s vote.
The IGWC Releases Strike Pledge to Members
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC) sent out a strike pledge to its members on Monday, March 25th. The strike pledge asks members if they would participate in a three-day strike, from Wednesday through Friday, April 17th, 18th, and 19th.
The strike goal is to gain a wage increase for graduate students. Organizers are calling the collective action “Three Days for a Raise.” IGWC members are asking for a university-wide raise for all graduate employees as the only way to prevent the strike.
At a Friday Town Hall at the Monroe Public Library, union members enthusiastically endorsed a strike plan. Over the weekend, more than fifty department organizers across Indiana University voted to approve the strike pledge through an online vote.
“We have no other choice but to ask our members about striking. We have tried all year to engage this administration in dialogue to no avail. Over 1,300 graduate employees signed union cards and asked for a meeting with them. They have even refused to answer our emails. While we love our classes and would much rather teach than strike, we need to make it clear to the university that this kind of disregard and disrespect is unacceptable,” said Katharina Schmid-Schmidsfelden from the Germanic Studies Department.
Organizers said that they would only call a strike if 500 associate instructors agreed to it. Associate instructors teach undergraduate courses at IU.
“We won’t call for a strike unless our members pledge to do this together. We are going to have a powerful strike or no strike at all. It’s up to our members,” explained Sabina Ali, a PhD candidate in Religious Studies.
Organizers are also asking research assistants and other graduate employees to cease any work not related to their academic progress during those three days.
“We desperately need a wage increase. Our members are pushed to the edge of survival. Our entire paychecks go to food and housing, if they even cover that,” explained Ann Campbell, a PhD candidate in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine.
The MIT Living Wage Calculator for Bloomington, Indiana, for a single person is now $41,441 per year.
IGWC carried out a successful strike in 2022, which resulted in the elimination of all student fees for graduate employees and a $7,000 increase in the minimum yearly wages to $22,000. The IU Administration recently announced a $1,000 raise in the base rate to $23,000 starting next Fall, although most SAAs were already making $22,600 or more.
Meanwhile, at peer institutions like Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, graduate employees will make a minimum of $45,000 per year by the end of 2024—after successful union negotiations and strike threats during this last year.
“At the heart of the issue is that this administration refuses any dialogue with its employees. These are deeply anti-democratic and against any form of dialogue, which does not bode well for the future of our university,” opined Elijah Beaton, a PhD Student in History.
GPSG and GSAs Join IGWC in Voting No Confidence in IU Admin
THE GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENT GOVERNMENT VOTES NO CONFIDENCE IN IU PRESIDENT WHITTEN, JOINS THE INDIANA GRADUATE WORKERS COALITION AND EIGHT GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS IN EXPRESSING NO CONFIDENCE IN INDIANA UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—On Friday, March 1, the Graduate and Professional Student Government (GPSG), the representative body of approximately 10,000 graduate students at the Indiana University Bloomington campus, held a unanimous vote of no confidence in the administration of President Pamela Whitten. The GPSG resolution faults the Whitten administration for violations of shared governance, a lack of transparency, and a failure to address the living and working conditions of graduate students. The resolution calls on other organizations and associations to initiate votes of no confidence in the administration.
Katharina Schmid-Schmidsfelden, a GPSG representative for the Department of Germanic Studies, presented the resolution at Friday’s vote. Schmid-Schmidsfelden criticized Whitten’s administration for its failure to listen to graduate workers and its role in cultivating an unproductive atmosphere.
“President Whitten’s administration repeatedly refused to engage in collegial dialogue on topics including the graduate workers’ union or even meet with the chosen representatives of the majority of graduate employees,” Schmid-Schmidsfelden said. “Undermining these values of academic freedom and shared governance has produced a tense campus climate and cultivated a culture of strike as opposed to conversation.”
The GPSG joins the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition, which voted no confidence in Whitten at its last general assembly on February 5, 2024. That vote was also unanimous.
Since then, the GPSG and eight graduate student associations (GSAs) have passed votes of no confidence. GSAs represent students in many departments where they address student concerns and organize events to elevate the department’s academic culture. Departments that have passed no confidence resolutions include History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine, Germanic Studies, Religious Studies, Sociology, History, the Media School, Political Science, and Philosophy.
Citing the administration’s contempt for graduate students, Sam Smucker, Chair of the Media School Graduate Association, explained why his department voted no confidence in President Whitten.
“Graduate students on our campus have lost all confidence in this administration,” Smucker said. “Their disdain for the opinions of faculty and graduate students is palpable. The recent attack on tenure, the backbone of academic freedom, should have resulted in a considerable mobilization of resources at all levels to stop it.The minimal response from the administration is alarming to us all.”
Echoing Smucker, the Co-President of the Political Science Graduate Student Association Jonathan Aker calls attention to Whitten’s disregard for graduate workers and emphasizes the gravity of her failures as the leader of the institution.
“There is an urgent need to stand up against President Whitten’s hostility to collective bargaining and academic freedom,” Aker said. “By suspending Professor Abdulkader Sinno on trumped-up charges, her administration threatens the shared governance principles core to Indiana University and caused significant setbacks for many students in our department. Her hostility toward graduate worker unionization undermines the success of graduate students in the political science department.”
Zara Anwarzai, a member of the Graduate Association of Students in Philosophy, stressed that President Whitten and her administration have deviated from core university values. Anwarzaiencourages other university organizations to vote no confidence in President Whitten.
“We passed this vote because the graduate workers in the Philosophy Department are committed to promoting the educational mission of IU,” Anwarzai said. “We need university leadership who prioritize the principles that make that mission possible, like democracy, dignity, and freedom. We are proud to follow other bodies on campus who have made a stand, and we hope others will follow suit to show that there is widespread care for our working conditions and our students’ learning conditions.”
Department resolutions cite concerns for academic freedom, the refusal to allow a vote for unionization for graduate employees, and the mishandling of the Kinsey Institute. You can view the votes of no confidence by each GSA here.
More than 10 additional GSAs around the university are planning votes of no confidence.
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Comments from Other GSA Leaders on Departmental Votes of No Confidence
“We believe that Pamela Whitten's administration has been structurally damaging to IU. While we are understandably concerned about her administration's effect on graduate education and representation, we are also extremely supportive of faculty authority, representation, and freedom at IU. The faculty suppression which has resulted from her administration is unacceptable.” — Matthew Rodriguez, Department of History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine.
“As a union and as grad students, we’re invested in the health of the university. Not only has President Whitten neglected to respond to the thousands of graduate students demanding union recognition, but in the last several months, we’ve seen several instances of her administration’s failure to practice shared governance. This administration is unable to engage in critique from students, the community, and faculty. We aren’t only concerned about her negligence toward graduate students but also other members of our university community. A vote of no confidence recognizes that these are not singular events but a pattern of poor administration that must be addressed.” — Moriah Reichert, Department of Religious Studies.
“We should vote no confidence in Whitten as graduate students for multiple reasons. Whitten’s actions have been very clear about her intentions for the university moving forward. The university will not be a space for free speech, not when it comes from anything from Palestinian genocide to American abortion rights. There will be no right to fair representation as she refuses to acknowledge the IGWC. Not even tenure offers the protection it has in the past. This is not an academic space I feel safe to teach or conduct my research in as a sociologist. We need to be able to protest genocide, we need to be able to organize, we need to be able to demand better of our university and maintain job security. We are strongest when our voices are heard together, I encourage other graduate students to vote no confidence in Whitten. ” — Anjali Biswas, Department of Sociology.
The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition is Hiring!
We’re seeking a part-time organizer to help build power for graduate workers at Indiana University Bloomington.
Job duties include extensive outreach to graduate students through one on one conversations, phone calls, texting, and emails; building department-level organization; recruiting, training, and developing department organizers from among union members; and increasing our base of dues paying members.
Strong commitment to worker power and social justice required. Knowledge of the IU campus and the IGWC preferred.
Organizers can be hired at up to 10 hours per week ($250/week). Exact work hours may vary based on campaign needs.
Contact indianagradworkers@gmail.com for questions or more details about the position.
To apply, please submit a resume/CV and brief letter describing your experience and interest to indianagradworkers@gmail.com.
IU Grad Workers Vote “No Confidence” in IU President Pamela Whitten; Endorse a Process to Explore Strike Readiness
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—On Sunday, February 4, the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC) lodged a vote of no confidence in IU President Pamela Whitten at the union’s general membership meeting and in a subsequent online vote. Graduate workers also endorsed a resolution on strike assessment and education to explore whether IGWC members would pursue a strike as a strategy to win their demands.
The vote of no confidence comes as a result of President Whitten’s failure to respond to an IGWC demand, signed by 1,300 graduate employees, for a union election and a living wage. The letter, which was sent on January 16, gave Whitten’s office a deadline of January 29 to respond to the demand. The administration still has not responded to the IGWC letter, nor has the IU Administration responded to any of IGWC’s attempts to open a dialogue since President Whitten joined IU in 2021.
Read the full vote of no confidence resolution here.
Graduate workers, like Maddie McReynolds in the Department of Biology, voiced their disappointment with the administration.
“The majority of graduate employees have repeatedly asked for a real voice when it comes to our wages, benefits, and working conditions,” said McReynolds. “The Whitten Administration has never even once responded to an email from IGWC. It’s totally disrespectful, and we’ve had enough.”
Others, like Nuzrath Jahan, an international student and graduate worker in the IU School of Public Health, noted the administration’s ignorance of working conditions for graduate workers.
“We do not make enough to pay rent in Bloomington; food inflation is out of control,” said Jahan. “If you are an international student, you are barely going to survive here. We need a seat at the table. Whitten has demonstrated repeatedly that she doesn’t have our best interests in mind.”
Katharina Schmid-Schmidsfelden, an international student and graduate worker in the Department of Germanic Studies, indicated that graduate students are not the only group that Whitten and her administration are ignoring.
“We have zero faith in President Whitten’s ability to lead our university,” said Schmid-Schmidsfelden. “The Bloomington Faculty Council voted back in 2022 for the administration to allow us a pathway to unionization, but the administration hasn’t even listened to the faculty. In fact, they are ignoring more and more voices everyday.”
The vote of no confidence also cites the recent suspension of Professor Abdulkader Sinno and the cancellation of IU alumna Samia Halaby’s exhibition as evidence that the Whitten administration is not only acting against the best interests of the university but is also suppressing fundamental rights.
“It’s clear to our membership that the university leadership is threatened by those who exercise freedom of speech, as in the case of artist Samia Halaby or Professor Sinno, or those who exercise their democratic right to form a union, like us,” said Adri Cruz, a graduate worker in the Department of Physics. “We hope that other undergraduate, graduate, and faculty organizations will join us and publish their own votes of no confidence in President Whitten. Practically everyone at IU is angered with this administration, and if we band together, they will be compelled to listen.”
The general membership meeting also concluded with discussion on other collective actions the IGWC might take in response to the administration’s failure to answer the union’s demands.
“Whatever collective action we take, we only do it together after we have a majority consensus among our members,” said Anne Kavalerchik, a graduate worker in the Departments of Sociology and Informatics. “Our members are considering sit-ins, rallies, and even a strike. Everything’s on the table right now.”
IGWC members endorsed the resolutions at the membership meeting and then voted on the resolutions online afterwards to ensure broader participation. Voting concluded on Monday, February 5, at 6:00 p.m.
Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition Demands Vote For Union Election And A Living Wage
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC) submitted a formal union election demand to the Indiana University administration on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. At approximately 2:00 p.m., a group of IGWC representatives delivered a letter addressed to President Pamela Whitten that specifically asks the IU administration to pay its graduate workers, or Student Academic Appointees (SAAs), a living wage and to provide a pathway to union recognition. The letter asks President Whitten’s office to respond by January 29.
The letter requests a pathway to unionization that would mirror the typical process established by the National Labor Relations Board. Graduate employees would vote to indicate their interest to be represented in collective bargaining, and IU would abide by this decision and negotiate a contract with an elected negotiating committee of graduate employees.
“There is nothing that restricts the administration from engaging in this simple exercise of democracy and guaranteeing a bargaining process should grad employees vote in favor of that,” said Sam Smucker, a PhD candidate in the Media School. “It is what Starbucks workers are able to do across the country almost every week. Certainly, IU should be more democratic than Starbucks.”
The demand for union recognition and a living wage reflects a majority of SAAs. Almost 1,300 signatories were included with the letter to the administration in support of the demands for a living wage and a union election.
Current SAA contracts disburse a minimum of $22,000 to workers for 10-month contracts. IGWC asks the administration to pay SAAs a living wage, as prescribed by the MIT Living Wage Calculator, which amounts to a minimum of $27,973 for 10-month SAAs and $33,568 for 12-month SAAs.
“When you’re a graduate worker, you’re often underpaid, overworked, and stuck in situations where people in authority over you have all the power,” said James Slaughter, a graduate student in Economics. “And if one of those people is exploiting you, the university unfortunately offers too little protection. But by coming together in a union, I have seen how we as graduate students can win incredible victories, like how we eliminated mandatory fees and have raised stipends repeatedly. When we join together, organize together, and fight back, we can protect ourselves and make this university a better place for all.”
The letter also cites the IGWC’s concern that the administration is refusing to practice shared governance. This policy guarantees that the administration will share decision-making authority with other governing bodies on campus.
The Bloomington Faculty Council, the governing body for IU Bloomington faculty, voted back in April 2022 to endorse a pathway for the administration’s recognition of a graduate worker union. The final count tallied 1,404 in favor to 509 against. The administration has yet to act on the BFC’s resolution.
During the strike in 2022, IGWC also received endorsements from the IU Graduate and Professional Student Government, Bloomington City Council, Monroe County Council, IU Student Government, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and hundreds of IU alumni.
A copy of the IGWC demand letter can be found here.
ABOUT IGWC (indianagradworkers.org)—The IGWC was founded in 2019 to advocate for graduate workers with the primary purpose of eliminating exorbitant fees and increasing pay. IGWC actions, including a massive four-week strike in the Spring of 2022, successfully brought an end to the fees and forced the IU administration to shift funds into graduate education, significantly improving the lives of graduate employees in Bloomington. There are approximately 2,400 SAA graduate employees on the Bloomington campus. Graduate workers are employed as Associate Instructors, Research Assistants, Graduate Assistants, and Adjuncts. Others are employed on an hourly basis. They teach hundreds of courses as primary instructors, conduct research in labs, and perform as artists and musicians.
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/IndianaGrads
https://www.twitter.com/indianagrads
https://www.instagram.com/indianagrads
General Membership Meeting – Saturday, December 2, 4:00–5:30pm
Graduate workers,
We are in the final stage of our union membership drive and are calling for an important all members meeting in preparation for the next steps. Join us for a General Membership Meeting on Saturday, December 2nd, from 4:00–5:30pm at the Monroe County Public Library Auditorium.
During this meeting, we will work together to develop the next steps of our strategy to win union recognition and a living wage. We need members from across campus to contribute to this discussion, so your attendance is critical.
The meeting will take place at the Monroe County Public Library Auditorium and over Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/7255062711). After the meeting, we will have a celebration party (with dinner!) — location TBA. Come celebrate an incredibly successful semester of organizing and building our union.
Does Shared Governance Mean Anything at IU?
Blooming Faculty Council holds emergency vote on May 9, 2022, regarding the welfare of graduate workers.
Indiana University is supposed to run on a system of “shared governance” in which the faculty and the IU Administration share the responsibility for critical decisions. The highest body of this shared governance system is the Bloomington Faculty Council (BFC). This system is set by the Indiana State Constitution and the bylaws of the BFC.
In April 2022, prior to the historic IGWC-UE strike, the BFC passed a resolution which demanded that Provost Rahul Shrivastav negotiate with the union to avoid a strike.
But the administration refused to listen to the faculty’s will and did not communicate with the IGWC-UE in any way. As a result, grad workers decided to strike to earn union recognition.
On May 9, a group of faculty called a special meeting of the BFC. Faculty re-affirmed their support for union recognition, passing a resolution to recognize IGWC-UE by a vote of 683-39.
May 9, 2022, faculty lines up around the block for emergency vote.
However, because quorum for a special meeting requires 800 members, faculty then voted again online. The vote to recognize the IGWC-UE passed by a vote of 1,404-509.
But the administration still didn’t listen to the will of the faculty.
In fact, on June 1, the Trustees rejected the BFC’s resolution outright.
The IU faculty’s response was incredulous. On June 15, a letter from faculty to the board stated, “The recent efforts of the IGWC have rekindled serious discussion about shared governance on our campus.”
But the administration still hasn’t listened to the will of the faculty.
What can shared governance possibly mean under this administration?
The IGWC-UE is preparing to make a new demand for union recognition based on the will of the majority of graduate workers.
Grad workers, join 1,400+ colleagues who have signed union cards already.