WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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On April 10th, the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition-United Electrical Workers opened a virtual strike authorization vote. The strike vote was tallied on Monday afternoon with 97.8 percent voting in favor.
1,031 total votes were cast with 1,008 voting in favor of striking and 23 voting against it. That means a strike will proceed from April 13-15.
WFHB News volunteers spoke with several organizers behind the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition about their demands for better working conditions and lower fees.
Nora Weber, a fourth-year Ph.D student in sociology at Indiana University, gave some context behind why this is happening now.
Weber explained how the grad workers coalition came together, the reasons behind the looming strike and how the movement has garnered support from students, faculty and outside organizations.
“We love our work,” says Weber. “We also believe that we shouldn’t be having to take out loans and choose between just to cover basic needs. We shouldn’t be having to take on three extra side jobs just to cover food and rent.”
Elizabeth Williams, a fifth-year student in philosophy at IU, discussed low wages and the high cost of living in Bloomington.
Williams says she has to work three extra jobs to make ends meet. She walked through how her experience as a grad student informs her calls for better wages at the university.
“With rising inflation and rising housing costs – even though we’ve had these recent raises from the College of Arts and Sciences in response to organizing – that’s good,” says Williams, “but it barely makes a dent in the actual problem and disparities there.”
Annalise Caine, a second year MFA student in playwriting at IU’s theater department, discussed her experience as a graduate student and why she joined the graduate workers coalition.
Caine explained how she believes the strike would benefit all students and faculty at the university.
“Although this is going to improve working conditions for the grad workers specifically, this also provides an opportunity for undergraduates and faculty to have more access to the university’s resources,” said Caine. “I can speak to the theater faculty in particular, they’ve been fighting for better wages for us for years now, and the university hasn’t budged.”
One organizer spoke on conditions of anonymity. They discussed why they believe workers need a union. They complained about how salaries are not enough to make a living in Monroe County and that a union helps to hold the university accountable in this regard.
“Graduate workers need a union in order to hold the university itself accountable, in order to ensure that additional groups around the university and around the community that surrounds IU are also in the process of decision making. While the university has offered us raises today, there’s no guarantee that tomorrow they won’t take them away,” says the source.
The strike will begin at 10 a.m. and a student walk-out will take place at noon on Wednesday. The strike will continue until Friday, April 15th. WFHB News will continue to provide field reporting and interviews with demonstrators about the strike throughout the week.
