Graduate students and Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTAs) voted on Thursday, Sept. 26 to become part of the Wesleyan Graduate Labor Union (WesGLU), which is represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU). The election, hosted by the National Labor Relations Board, was held in Usdan room B25. Of the 117 eligible voters, 79% voted in the election, with 86 votes in favor of unionizing and 7 against.

“Today, grad workers at Wesleyan made history, joining ResLife workers, kitchen employees, and staff in founding a strong union that will determine the terms and conditions of working here,” Scott Williams, a representative of OPEIU local 153, said. “We’re happy to welcome them into our union family.”

OPEIU 153 already represents undergraduate Resident Advisors, clerical and administrative assistants, and Physical Plant employees at the University. Their efforts to unionize Residential Life workers at the University in 2022 were the first of its kind at a private institution, and grad student workers expect to build on their success. Members of the newly recognized union hope that future negotiations will bolster their rights as both students and workers at the University. 

“Through the collective bargaining process, grad workers will address concerns with working conditions and supervision, support for completing degrees, increasing stipends and advanced agreement for raises, expanding healthcare access, support for grad workers who are parents, while seeking to address pay equity issues across programs,” an update on the OPEIU website posted after the election read. 

Supporters, including union organizer for Teamsters local 671 Ruby Clarke ’24, who participated in Residential Life organizing during her time on campus, flooded in to watch the count and show support following a recent series of events bringing attention to unionization efforts at the University. But even with the recent surge of enthusiasm surrounding the vote, many expressed that they felt anxiety as the ballots were read off. 

“When they read that first no, I was shocked,” Alex Temidis, a biophysics PhD student, said. 

Still, there was little surprise at the result of the vote. 

“In the weeks I’ve known everyone, [WesGLU] have been really on top of their game. They let everyone know they have the right and the duty to vote,” Temidis said.

WesGLU has been campaigning for University recognition since last March, when graduate students and FLTAs sent an open letter to the administration outlining their hopes for unionization. Since then, supporters have shared their motivations for pursuing a union at public town halls, concerts, and other events across campus. 

“Grad students long desired a union,” Bryan Chong ’21, a representative of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 4, said.

The vote is the first step in what many say will be a protracted set of negotiations with University administration over a labor contract. Although the exact outcomes of this process remain uncertain, graduate students remain excited about the recent win.

“We won, we did it, and with overwhelming support,” Sean O’Sullivan MA ’25 said in response to the announcement of the win.

Now that the union has won recognition by the University, WesGLU will move forward to address concerns about work-life balance, healthcare, and financial equity. Following this recent hurdle, OPEIU representative Scott Williams said that the union plans to work closely with graduate students to address their individual concerns. 

“Our next step is to include every member in the preparation of proposals on all aspects of the work for graduate employees at Wesleyan and identify the policies that they want to improve, to maintain, and to create,” Williams wrote in a statement to The Argus. 

Among other suggestions of anti-union sentiment, the University administration has drawn criticism for announcing that they hired a historically anti-union law firm, Littler Mendelson P.C.

“Roth responded to the union with the bare minimum,” O’Sullivan said. 

However, Williams says that he is enthusiastic about bargaining in good faith with the administration. 

“We look forward to developing proposals, sharing them with members for feedback, and then negotiating with the Wesleyan administration,” Williams wrote.

Though its popular mandate is clear, WesGLU has a difficult task ahead of them. Representing such a diverse group of students under one organization will pose challenges, but with its proven success advocating for Residential Life workers, representatives of OPEIU are confident about taking on the needs of the University’s most recent union.

“We will continue to organize, to call on support from students, faculty and staff, and hopefully win a contract which addresses the concerns around equity, fair working conditions, and support that is needed to make Wesleyan the best place to learn and to work,” Williams wrote.  

Even with the future of their contract remaining uncertain, this victory has brought newfound optimism and momentum to University graduate students. 

 

Brendan Barry can be reached at bbarry@wesleyan.edu. 

Miles Craven can be reached at mcraven@wesleyan.edu.