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FAQs: Fall 2022 Contracts
What should I do about my Fall 2022 contract?
Sign your Fall contract, so as to prevent a lapse in pay.
Sign the Fall 2022 Contract Duress Statement, indicating that you are signing your fall contract under duress and do not agree with its terms. The Statement and signatories will be posted on the Indiana Graduate Workers website, and, for every 50 signers, emailed to President Whitten and Provost Shrivastav.
What are the changes in this year’s contract?
Graduate workers at IU Bloomington are being required to sign a new SAA Contract (College of Arts and Sciences students are also being required to sign a Supervisory Agreement) for the coming year. Changes include new requirements that advisors surveil and manage (rather than mentor) SAAs, and requirements that SAAs use Canvas for maintaining students’ academic records. These tactics directly attack graduate workers’ ability to participate in collective labor actions, and create additional, unpaid labor for faculty and staff.
Is this contract enforceable?
The right to collective action and labor strikes is protected by both Indiana and federal law. Logistically, the IGWC-UE also believes these contracts to be unenforceable. Faculty have overwhelmingly and democratically endorsed both our union and our labor organizing. Frankly, faculty and staff also have far more important things to do that actually serve the mission of Indiana University, rather than participate in the IU Administration’s anti-union campaign. Furthermore, as employees, we were not given any opportunity to have input into the terms of the agreement, and are signing these contracts under duress.
What is the petition?
The petition clearly states that you signed your Fall SAA contract under the following conditions:
You were not provided freedom of voluntary consent to sign the Individual Contract for Student Academic Appointees (SAA Contract) and (if applicable) the Support and Supervision of Student Academic Appointees in the College of Arts and Sciences document.
That your chosen representative, the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition - UE, was not offered the opportunity to discuss or negotiate the content of the SAA Contract and Support and Supervision document with any IU Administrator.
That, as a result, you were required to sign the document as a condition of employment.
That you do not hold this to be a valid contract entered into freely by two parties. Rather, that you signed the document/s—the terms of which you disagree with—under duress. The principle reason for this duress is the University’s continuing refusal to bargain with our designated representative, the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition - UE.
Why should I sign the petition?
Signing the petition is important for several reasons. First, this petition may come up in the event of a court case surrounding our Fall 2022 contracts. Second, this petition is an important act of solidarity, it reminds IU that we have solidarity and collective action, regardless of the opinions of a few upper-level administrators. Our protection is the collective action of our strike.
What can my department do?
If SAAs in your department decide to all collectively refuse to sign and are confident you cannot be replaced, the IGWC-UE endorses that action. Please reach out to the IGWC-UE and your Union Representatives if you plan to take this action.
If you are in a supportive departments but unable to refuse to sign collectively, the IGWC-UE has written a letter that members and faculty members can sign together expressing opposition to the contract. Please reach out to the IGWC-UE and your Union Representatives if you plan to take this action.
How should I approach the Fall semester?
Approach this semester just like we approached the Spring 2022 semester. Keep in communication with your Union Representative, attend General Assembly and departmental IGWC-UE meetings.
AAUP Rejects Contingency Plans & Calls On IU to Recognize Union
July 7, 2022 — Read the full statement.
AAUP Issues Resolution Opposing Contingency Plans and CANVAS Mandates
July 7, 2022 — The IU Bloomington chapter of the American Association of University Professors passed a resolution opposing strike contingency planning and the new SAA contract and supervision plans put forth by the IU Administration. Read the full text of the resolution. Reach the IGWC-UE response.
“Now, therefore, be it resolved that the IUB-AAUP calls on
1) department chairs and program directors not to make contingency plans that would include replacing the work of striking SAAs;
2) the administration to a) recognize that faculty and graduate students cannot be mandated by the administration to use any specific learning management system including Canvas; and b) to honor the guidance of faculty in support of the unionization of graduate employees.”
IUB Faculty Respond To Board of Trustees Refusing to Respect Faculty Vote
June 17, 2022 — Read the full statement.
IU Bloomington Faculty Vote In Support Of Union and Shared Governance
May 9, 2022 —
Read the full statement of the resolution.
Read the AAUP rebuttal of the Provost’s messaging surrounding Graduate Worker unionization.
Members Vote to Suspend Strike Until Fall 2022
Congratulations on wrapping up four weeks of historic and productive striking! Our hard work and unity have secured us many victories, including 625 Faculty Members voted YES TO UNION RECOGNITION. Hence, we are well-positioned to secure more victories moving into the summer and fall.
We’ve voted to suspend the strike (448 suspend vs 125 continue) until September 26. This means that members who were striking should plan to:
SUBMIT THEIR FINAL GRADES for the spring semester. The final grade deadline is today, May 10th, at 8pm.
Reach out to your students to inform them that the strike has been suspended and that you plan to submit their grades.
RESUME SUMMER TEACHING for the current summer sessions.
Please reach out to your department union representative(s) if you have any specific questions about what suspending the strike entails.
We have a lot of work to do this summer, and we’ve created a lot of momentum to do that work. Here is how to get involved in our collective actions (UE local committee, Canvas research and Research Assistant strike involvement) for the next stage of our fight.
For now, we grade and we celebrate!
Cheers,
The IGWC-UE Bargaining Committee
Bargaining Committee Statement on the Recommendation to Suspend the Strike
Indiana graduate workers have shown unbelievable courage and energy during the last four weeks. We conducted a historic strike that will change Indiana University forever. We have shown IU that they must respect the voices of graduate employees. We have shown graduate employees around the country how to stand up for their rights. Our union is a leading voice in the movement for unionization nationwide.
The faculty have responded to our strike with the first Special Meeting of Bloomington Faculty in 17 years today. Over 700 faculty turned out for this extraordinary meeting, and they voted overwhelmingly to take back the power to appoint SAAs from the Provost by 683 Yes and 39 No. We assume that the faculty also overwhelmingly endorsed a pathway for unionization for IGWC-UE. However, the Administration has refused to release the vote count at this time.
The faculty have sent a strong message to the Board of Trustees. It’s time for the Board to respond and recognize the will of the faculty. We won this victory through our strike and our unity.
We recommend a suspension of the strike. The strike will stop over the summer and resume in the fall after another vote of union members.
The thinking behind the decision to suspend the strike is twofold:
We want to see the effects of the strike and of the Special Meeting of Bloomington Faculty on the Administration and the Board of Trustees. That will take time to play out over the summer.
If we are going to continue the strike, we want to do that under conditions we choose and under conditions in which we are strong. We are strongest when we are teaching hundreds of classes during the fall and spring semesters.
To further strengthen a fall strike, the General Membership Meeting has endorsed the creation of a committee to explore a plan to ask graduate instructors to move their classes off of Canvas for Fall 2022.
The General Membership Meeting has endorsed the creation of a committee to explore how Research Assistants Strike Committee to explore how research assistants could join instructors in the strike.
This summer, we will set up our UE local union. At the beginning of the fall semester, we will elect union officers and a new bargaining committee.
As always, we hope the Administration will talk with the IGWC-UE. We hope that pressure from our strike and from the Special Faculty Meeting will lead the Board of Trustees to provide a pathway to unionization. We also hope that removing ourselves from Canvas and preparing RAs will further strengthen a prospective strike and bring the Administration to their senses.
This strike has changed Indiana University. Each one of us is more courageous now than we were four weeks ago. We are more unified now than we were four weeks ago.
IU Administrators will always know that we can strike. They will have to account for that when they want to ignore us or put us low on their priority list. Our goals of union recognition, a living wage, and ending the fees are ambitious. We knew we wouldn’t win them all at once. But we will never go back to the years in which graduate employees can just be ignored. We are here and we have our union. We are an immovable force. We really are unstoppable.
IU Undergraduates Host Press Conference In Support Of Graduate Unionization
April 18, 2022 — Watch the full coverage.
IU Student Government Executive Branch Formally Endorses IGWC-UE Strike
April 11, 2022 — Read the full text.
IU Students Initiate Pro-union Petition & Refute Admin’s Anti-union Tactics
April 6, 2022 — Read the full text of the petition.
Over 600 IUB Faculty Sign Pledge Of Neutrality In Support Of Graduate Workers
March 2022 — Read and sign the Faculty Pledge of Neutrality.
IU Student Government Enacts Resolution In Support Of Graduate Union
March 3, 2022 — Read the full text.
Indiana University Board of Trustees & Administration Reject Dialogue Over Graduate Worker Concerns
February 2, 2022
On February 1, Interim Provost and Executive Vice President John S. Applegate informed IGWC-UE that the Indiana University administration and Board of Trustees are unwilling to engage in discussion about improving the lives and working conditions of Graduate Workers at IU.
We are disappointed that the IU Board of Trustees and Administration have chosen this pathway. Across the country, Graduate Workers have faced similar obstacles and have overcome them to win unionization and its benefits. Graduate Workers at the University of Iowa, University of Illinois, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin all contended with administrations that initially refused to engage in dialogue. Each of these Graduate Worker unions overcame claims similar to those voiced by Interim Provost Applegate, to win massive wage increases, elimination of fees, and annual raises. Like our colleagues at other universities, we will continue this fight until we will win. Help us win!
The nearly 1,600 union cards we presented to the Board of Trustees represent the intentions of a supermajority of IU Graduate Workers to have a collective bargaining unit. More than 110 Indiana University faculty members, including Maurer School of Law faculty, signed a letter urging the Board of Trustees and IU administration to honor our unionization efforts. This past week, local AAUP and CWA union chapters also endorsed us.
Interim Provost Applegate and the Administration have chosen to ignore the will of graduate employees and the recommendations of faculty and staff.
The IU administration claims that we are not workers. In reality, Graduate Worker labor is critical to the functioning of Indiana University. Nearly 700 Graduate Workers are instructors of record at Indiana University. In addition, Graduate Workers grade coursework, run labs and studios, produce research, secure grants, provide mentorship, and serve in countless other professional capacities that are critical to campus operations. We are proud to have our academic needs represented by the Graduate and Professional Student Government, but we also deserve a body that recognizes and represents us as workers.
Provost Applegate claims that IU has “been responsive to the concerns and needs” of Graduate Workers. In reality, the IU Administration has ignored our increasingly dire economic conditions. Graduate Workers at IU are struggling. Indiana University’s own estimates show that Graduate Workers’ wages fall well below the cost of living in Bloomington. Empirical data demonstrate that many Graduate Workers are forced to choose between making rent and covering other financial necessities, such as food, medical treatment, and childcare. To compensate for inadequate wages, many Graduate Workers must balance multiple side jobs, diverting time and energy away from our work and research. Graduate Workers who are first-generation, caregivers, or from minoritized backgrounds are disproportionately affected.
We call on the IU Board of Trustees and administration to recognize and come into good-faith coordination with the IGWC-UE to affirm a pathway toward unionization. We remain enthusiastic about building a meaningful relationship and engaging in productive discussion. When the Indiana University Board of Trustees and Administration support Graduate Workers, they also support the IU faculty and fellow staff with whom we work, the students we teach and mentor, and the state and broader community that Indiana University serves.
Graduate unions around the country have demonstrated that when we persist, we win. Now, more than ever, we remain resolute in our efforts to secure dignified, equitable, and accessible graduate life at Indiana University.
We need all hands on deck to win our fight for unionization. Join us!
Sincerely,
Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition - United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America
Bloomington AAUP Issues Letter to Board Of Trustees, Calls For Union Election
January 24, 2022 — Read the full text.
Announcement: IGWC-UE Writes to IU Admin Expressing Concerns About COVID-19
January 19, 2022
The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition - United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (IGWC-UE) has written President Whitten, Provost Applegate, Dr. Carroll, and select Vice Provosts and Vice Presidents, to share a letter expressing our concerns about Indiana University’s Spring 2022 policies.
Given the current surge of the Omicron variant of the SARS-COV-2 virus, we urge the IU Administration to take immediate action to protect the workers, students, and broader Bloomington community from further spread. More than 1,200 students, staff, and faculty have already tested positive for COVID. This number continues to grow.
We specifically call on the IU administration to provide KN95/N95 masks across campus, and to ensure flexibility for graduate student workers who are expected to teach or work in campus facilities. These measures will slow the spread of COVID and improve equity in campus safety.
We await a response from the IU Administration to this call for action.
We also anticipate — by February 1, 2022 — that the IU Board of Trustees will respond to our submission of nearly 1,600 union cards. With these cards, we called into motion IU’s policy HR-12-20 to enact a union vote for graduate workers. The policy clearly requires that IU hold an election for the recognition of a union when “a petition has been received indicating that at least 30 percent of the employees within the appropriate staff unit favor an election” – a benchmark far surpassed by the IGWC-UE.
COVID-19 Letter to IU Administration — Spring 2022
Read full letter here also.
January 19, 2022
Dear President Whitten, Provost Applegate, Dr. Carroll, Vice Provosts & Vice Presidents,
As cases of the Omicron variant of the SARS-COV-2 virus are increasing, there is growing concern among members of the Indiana University community that we are not well equipped for an inperson semester. In response to the rising case rate, other large institutions, including Harvard University, Northwestern University, and almost the entire University of California system, opted to move their courses online for the beginning of the Spring semester. As instructors, we appreciate the appeal of in-person instruction, but believe that additional protective measures should be taken.
We ask that the administration address the following concerns to best protect its graduate student workers:
We urge the university to provide KN95/N95 masks in each campus building. KN95/N95 masks reduce virus transmission because of their better fit and protection against droplet spread. Indiana University currently recommends these types of masks based on their superior protective qualities compared to cloth or standard surgical masks. We believe that Indiana University should act urgently to secure KN95/N95 masks for the Indiana University community. We urge Indiana University to give their best effort in protecting those who are working on campus, including graduate instructors.
We urge the university to extend greater flexibility in course modality to graduate workers who are teaching or working in campus facilities. Currently, Indiana University’s policy on Faculty Instructional Responsibilities states, “Variations from the schedule may occur for a variety of reasons, including illness, professional activities, and pedagogical considerations.” This is contradicted by IU’s COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions Page, which states that “The mode of instruction indicated in the course schedule is the mode that should be used to deliver the course.” We are concerned that this language creates some confusion around whether instructors (including graduate students working as Associate Instructors) may, without consequence, alter the course format on a case-by-case basis if they themselves are exposed to COVID-19. We ask that the COVID-19 guidance be revised to align with BL-ACA-H28 and to clearly state that instructors (including graduate worker Associate Instructors) may alter their mode of instruction for a class meeting if they are ill or concerned that they may have been exposed to someone who is ill. This will reduce the risk of an instructor transmitting COVID to their students.
We understand that these are challenging times for everyone. In line with our determination to support Indiana University as best as we are able, we ask that these additional protective measures be implemented to keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible. We look forward to your public statement in response to the above concerns. Thank you for your time.
Respectfully,
Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition - United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America