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.