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September 27, 2024

Wesleyan grad workers to form union

Contributed Wesleyan University Graduate workers.
By Hanna Snyder Gambini

Graduate workers at Wesleyan University in Middletown have voted to form a union.

The workers this week voted 86-7 in favor of forming a union with the OPEIU Local 153. Their new union, Wesleyan Graduate Labor Union, includes 114 graduate employees who teach or conduct research at Wesleyan. 

Members said forming the union will allow them to communicate openly about working conditions with Wesleyan administration without fear of retaliation.

Katie Sagarin has been one of the lead organizers of the unionization efforts. She said members have been advocating for better working conditions in research labs for nearly five years.

“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,” they said.

OPEIU Local 153 represents undergraduate resident advisors, clerical and administrative assistants, and physical plant employees at Wesleyan, a private, liberal arts university with more than 3,000 students.

Wesleyan did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday morning. 

Unionization efforts in Connecticut have been on the rise in recent years. 


 

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