November 18, 2021
Dear Student Dining Workers Union Leadership,
We look forward to meeting with you later today and to the opportunity to have a productive conversation about student dining services employment at Grinnell College. We want to affirm that we, along with President Harris, respect every individual employed by Grinnell College, and are deeply committed to providing a flourishing working environment for all.
In the spirit of our campus community’s commitment to our T.H.R.I.V.E. principles, we anticipate that our hour together will be motivated by the goal of building and sustaining trust. We believe we can do that by engaging with you in thoughtful, open, and direct dialogue.
We are aware that UGSDW is promoting plans for a rally just prior to and at the same place as our planned meeting location. We are hopeful that the rally will not distract and disrupt our meeting. The College’s Student Handbook affirms the right to assembly and supports student expression in the form of protest and demonstration under the following conditions:
- Protests and/or demonstrations may not impede access to the educational experience for other students and may not impede access to the employment responsibilities for faculty or staff.
- Protests and/or demonstrations may not cause damage to persons or College property.
- Students engaged in protests and/or demonstrations may not access confidential spaces, confidential information, or private individual offices.
Thus, any disruption of our meeting would be in violation of the College’s protest and demonstration policy and potentially cause us to suspend or cancel our meeting. That would be extremely unfortunate and counterproductive, as we want to hear about your concerns and engage in meaningful discussion.
We appreciate that first and foremost you are students and that your union roles are not your only responsibility. We need to remind you that both the College and UGSDW are bound by the mutually agreed upon two-year contract that your membership voted to approve, which is in effect until 2023.
Before we discuss any employment matters or concerns at our meeting, we need to delineate three important points.
- The UGSDW is a party to a binding Collective Bargaining Agreement that does not expire until June 30, 2023 (9.1). That contract was negotiated by your leadership and approved by a majority of your members. That agreement provides for precise hourly wages of $10.40 per hour in year one and $10.75 per hour in year two (4.1). That agreement also provides that Grinnell College has the sole discretion to schedule work and decide how to provide dining services (2.3). Finally, that agreement provides the following in Section (2.1) “The College and Union mutually agree and acknowledge that the employees covered by this Agreement are, first and foremost, students. The advancement of the educational goals of the employees, and the efficient operation of the College dining services are the mutual obligations of the parties. The parties agree to further, to the fullest extent possible, the safety of the employees, economy and efficiency of operation, elimination of waste, realization of maximum quantity and quality of output, cleanliness, protection of property and avoidance of interruptions to production. The parties to this Agreement will cooperate fully to secure the advancement and achievement of these purposes.”
- Demanding wages in excess of the contractual rates and posting such demands outside of formal contract negotiations or a formal request for mid-contract bargaining, is a violation of federal labor law.
- The Collective Bargaining Agreement provides that the parties recognize those covered by it are first and foremost students, but also employees. Several of the concerns outlined are based on labor law, and as such could be the basis for citing UGSDW for violation of contract. Certain actions such as pressuring or intimidating a supervisor or other staff members to achieve demands, if they continue, would also be in violation of College policies and could result in a College conduct process, as well as claims by employees that they have been exposed to a hostile work environment.
We are committed to maintaining an open and cordial relationship with the UGSDW and to fostering a positive working environment for all. We hope that sharing our concerns and expectations directly with you will in fact help us to engage with a sense of partnership, community, and working for the common good.
Sincerely,
Jana Grimes
Vice President of Human Resources