Progress Updates

Summary and Next Steps

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October 18th's listening and organization session was a major success! There were over 60 graduate workers and supporters present in the hybrid session, which was our biggest meeting yet. It’s obvious that our movement is gaining momentum. Here’s a recap for everyone:

1. GSV Steering Committee volunteers shared the recent work of the community builders, including the recent op-ed in the ISU Daily and canvassing efforts to spread the word about our mission to organize Iowa State graduate workers and build a community of support.

2. The anti-union article responding to our op-ed in the Daily was exactly what we expected.

   • Anti-union articles from members of the community (often suggested or encouraged by the employer) are a standard technique in the union-busting toolbox.

   • The University has access to many more resources than we do, including a complete list of graduate student emails, a dedicated legal team, a much larger staff, and significant funding to support an anti-union campaign. 

   • We expect to see further anti-union efforts from the University.

   • We disagree with many of the points made in the anti-union article and are currently working on a multi-pronged response.

3. The meeting included a long and productive open forum where graduate workers voiced their questions and concerns.  We’ve listed some of the topics and our brief responses here, but see our FAQ for more details.

   • The disparity of graduate student stipends across the university. Is there data? Yes, the information is out there,and we’re in the process of gathering the data.  We will post the analysis results to the website and mail them out to members on our mailing list. Many people shared their stipends during the meeting, and numbers ranged from $18,000 to $27,000 per academic year. Since the meeting, two GSV members have started pulling the information from the State of Iowa website for further analysis.  You can join the GSV Discord to follow the conversation.

   • What kind of grievance procedure is being advocated by GSV?  Would grad students be employed in full-time positions associated with the grievance process?  GSV believes that Iowa State University does not have an effective mechanism for handling grievances by graduate students against faculty members or administrators.  Turnover in the Ombuds position has been very high over the past decade, and the Ombuds office has been closed for extended periods of time.  GSV members’ (and other graduate students') experiences with the Ombuds and University administrators have not led to effective resolution of grievances.  For this reason, GSV advocates for an independent organization to handle grievances, employing staff specifically trained in conflict resolution.

   • What’s the timeline to hold the unionization vote?  We don’t want to hold a vote until we know we can win.  We’re in the process of building support, and that could take another several months or longer. The faster we work together to grow our movement, the sooner we can move forward with establishing the union.

   • What are the healthcare benefits GSV is advocating for?  Health care benefits for graduate workers at Iowa State fall short of what we need in several respects–we are currently working on an analysis that identifies shortfalls and proposes solutions.  The graduate student union at University of Iowa has successfully negotiated for a University contribution to dependent health care.  We are currently required to go through Thielan Student Health Center, whose staff primarily address the health needs of younger undergraduate students, and who sometimes are not equipped to address the needs of graduate students.  

   • If the University decides to work with us without a union, would that be an alternative way to get our needs met?  Possibly, but we are not optimistic that graduate workers can substantially and permanently improve our working conditions without the power of an organized union.

   • Who will be in the bargaining unit?  What about undergrads?  Post-docs?  The exact membership of the bargaining unit will be determined at the time of the union vote.  Because graduate workers occupy a unique place in the University system, our bargaining unit probably would not include undergrads, post-docs, staff, or faculty.  We certainly support the efforts of workers in all positions to unionize.

4. We ended the meeting with a call to action.  What can you do to support graduate workers?

   • Sign up for our mailing list.  A critical mass of support is needed in order to for us to get resources and help from the national union.

   • Spread the word.  Talk with other graduate students about unionizing, and direct them to our website with our mailing list and resources.

   • Volunteer as a GSV community builder, or a member of the steering committee. Even a little bit of your time can be incredibly helpful in moving us forward.

   • If you are not a graduate worker–if you’re an undergrad, staff member, faculty member, administrator, or community member–check our FAQ for things you can do to help.  We're working on significantly expanding our list of resources for tenure-track faculty and administrators, especially, so check back frequently.

We thank all the graduate workers and supporters who attended the meeting.  If you couldn't make it this time, we'll be posting the date soon for our next meeting.  Remember that we are stronger together!