Special Campus Memo: UGSDW-NLRB Decision
On Oct. 8, the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW) filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) requesting an election where all student workers could vote on whether to have a campus-wide union. The NLRB held a hearing to consider that petition and the College's legal response Oct. 17-18, on campus. The NLRB has announced its ruling to allow eligible students to vote in a union election.
As part of the NLRB's ruling in favor of UGSDW's petition, it was agreed that a union election will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27, in Joe Rosenfield '25 Center (JRC), Room 101. The NLRB will conduct the election. Any undergraduate employee of the College who logged hours from Sept. 16 through Oct. 15 will be able to vote.
The College is studying the NLRB ruling in order to be in compliance with all NLRB directives, and plans to appeal the decision.
It would not be appropriate to comment on the College's legal position in this particular situation while it is still an active NLRB matter and a vote is pending. However, it should be noted that there has been misinformation and misrepresentation of the College's position relative to unions. The College has supported the interest of both staff and students to unionize and the College has active unions on campus. Currently, student dining service workers are the only Grinnell student workers represented by a union. It is important that the implications of all student workers being represented by a union is fully understood by all parties.
The College did not oppose the unionization of students in dining services and their decision to be represented by the union in October 2016. Forming a union for the type of work in dining made sense because the work is not essentially bound to the educational mission of the College and is relatively homogenous in nature. Furthermore, dining service work can be filled by students or other Grinnell community members.
While we recognize the income that students earn may play an important part in financing their education, students working at the College are not here primarily to earn a living. The College values the work performed by students; however, with the exception of dining services, there are very few of the jobs that share a "community of interest" with other positions. Thus, no single union could adequately represent the interests of those very disparate positions. If dozens of unions were formed to cover each of the groups of student positions that are related, it would be unduly burdensome and expensive to administer such a system.
As authorities have recognized, collective bargaining and the potential resort to the economic threat of a strike or lockout would fundamentally change the educational nature of a relationship between students and an institution of higher education. It could detract from the primary reason students are enrolled at a college - to obtain an education
Regardless of the election outcome, the College will continue its commitment to collaborate with union and nonunion members of the student body alike, to provide a safe environment, maximize the value of the work-study experience, and treat all workers with respect.