On June 28, the Graduate Organized Laborers of Dartmouth-United Electrical Workers — Dartmouth’s graduate student workers’ union — ratified a three-year contract with the College, College Provost David Kotz announced in a campus-wide email. The two parties previously reached a tentative agreement on the contract on June 24.
The new contract grants graduate student workers various medical and financial benefits, including free dental coverage, stipends for parents with children under six and paid medical leave up to $4,700, according to past reporting by The Dartmouth. The contract, GOLD-UE’s first, also maintains management rights and prohibits strikes and lockouts, according to Kotz and GOLD-UE’s website.
The ratified agreement follows months of union activism — including a nearly two-month GOLD-UE strike beginning May 1 — and around three days of GOLD-UE voting. According to past reporting by The Dartmouth, GOLD-UE members could vote to ratify the contract from June 26 to June 28 through ballots sent by email.
“This agreement is a model of constructive engagement with unions, demonstrating our ability to negotiate and reach consensus without compromising on essential principles,” Kotz wrote in the email. “…We extend our thanks to the entire Guarini community for their patience and understanding throughout the negotiation period.”