union

This story first appeared in the 12 April 2010 issue of Socialist Worker.

GRADUATE STUDENT employees at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) won a new contract following a threat by the 1,400-member union to go on strike if its demands, particularly around tuition waivers and differentials, weren’t met by university officials.

The tentative agreement was hammered out during a 13-hour marathon bargaining session that began as supporters of the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) at UIC rallied on campus on April 5.

The union was able to gain stronger language securing tuition waivers for graduate employees, an increase in the minimum stipend for the next two years, and more money from the university for health insurance.

First printed in Socialist Worker on 2 November 2009

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.--Approximately 150 workers, union activists and students rallied October 28 in front of the Indiana statehouse to stand in solidarity with workers at several Indianapolis hotels. The workers at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, Westin Indianapolis and Sheraton Indianapolis City Center have been publicly campaigning for almost a year to unionize hotel workers.