End ALL the Fees through Union Negotiations
Graduate workers at other Big Ten Universities have formed unions and negotiated an end to their fees. We can do that at Indiana as well!
Indiana University had some of the highest fees in the Big Ten, and graduate workers had no say in these fees. Our historic Spring 2022 Strike ended the mandatory domestic fees and the international student fees.
At the University of Michigan, unionized graduate workers have negotiated away most fees.
When graduate workers unionize they are able to negotiate over, reduce, and even eliminate fees. At the University of Michigan, the contract between the University and the graduate workers union (GEO-AFT Local 3550) includes the following negotiated agreements:
Article XX: Tuition Waiver
Employees will pay no fees other than Michigan Student Assembly, school and college government, course fees and lab fees, and Registration fee; the amount of the Registration fee assessed to the Employee shall be no more than eighty dollars ($80.00).
This includes international student fees.
At the University of Illinois, unionized graduate workers greatly reduced their fees through negotiations.
Here is the language in their union contract:
XV. Fee Waivers
Assistants holding a qualifying assistantship will receive a waiver of the Academic Facility Maintenance Fund Assessment (AFMFA) Fee, Library/Information Technology Fee, and Service Fee.
At Michigan State University, unionized graduate workers eliminated certain fees through union negotiations. Here is their contract.
Article 20. III. Fees
The Employer agrees to waive Matriculation Fees, Information Technology Fees and any other University fees equally applicable to Employees (fees that appear on the tuition bill), with the exception of taxes instituted by a vote of the student body.
At Indiana, we ended ALL the fees by unionizing!