GRADUATE STUDENTS UNITED

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Graduate Students United - United Electrical (GSU-UE) is the autonomous, democratic, member-run union of graduate student employees at the University of Chicago.

The tentative agreement we reached with the University was ratified by membership on March 28th with 1,372 YES - 41 NO votes. That’s 97% YES with 90% of current membership voting!

This contract is the result of a years-long campaign, the work of hundreds of organizers, and the support and commitment of thousands of members. This is a historic moment for our membership and the University of Chicago. We are part of a movement that is actively transforming higher education by raising the standards of academic workplaces.

We have a Contract!

RECENT NEWS

Sign A new  membership card

All graduate workers who will receive the full benefits and protections of the contract (including teaching assistants; research assistants; grader; lecturers; preceptors and CCTL fellows) must choose to either: become a member of GSU-UE Local 1103 and pay dues, OR not become a member, and instead pay an Agency fee to the Union. The easiest way to become a current member of the Union is to sign a NEW membership card and authorize monthly membership dues.

2023-2024 Contract Campaign

GSU-UE’s historic first contract was ratified my membership on March 28th, 2024. Read through the entire 10 month process at 2023-2024 Contract Campaign Archive.

Upcoming events
CAT MEETNG
Apr 29
UChicago Graduate Students United - 4th Floor
CAT MEETNG
UChicago Graduate Students United - 4th Floor

Contract Action Team Meetings are held every Monday at 5:30PM in the GSU office on the 4th floor of Hyde Park Union Church and on Zoom!

Fill out the Contract Action Team interest form to connect with organizers in your division and get plugged in!

UChicago Graduate Students United - 4th Floor
PSD-PME Constitution Townhall
Apr 30
PSD-PME Constitution Townhall
BSD Constitution Townhall
Apr 30
BSD Constitution Townhall
CAT MEETNG
May 6
UChicago Graduate Students United - 4th Floor
CAT MEETNG
UChicago Graduate Students United - 4th Floor

Contract Action Team Meetings are held every Monday at 5:30PM in the GSU office on the 4th floor of Hyde Park Union Church and on Zoom!

Fill out the Contract Action Team interest form to connect with organizers in your division and get plugged in!

UChicago Graduate Students United - 4th Floor

Upcoming Events

WHO WE ARE

GSU-UE is the labor union of, and bargaining representative for, graduate student employees who perform teaching or research services at the University of Chicago. We won our ability to collectively bargain after fifteen years of organizing on campus. We won our election in March of 2023, and ratified our first contract in March if 2024!

Voting on the contract closes at 5PM TODAY! If you aren’t a member yet you have until NOON to sign a membership card and receive and ballot! If you don’t see the email from OpaVote, check your spam first and then contact us!
Check your UChicago email to find your ballot and vote on the Tentative Agreement! Voting closes at 5PM on the 28th. You MUST be a member to vote!
With our contract ratification vote fast approaching now is a great time to sign your new union card! We released our new dues authorization cards on March 12th! Please go to the link in our bio or bit.ly/joinGSU1103 to learn more!
We hope you all had a great spring break and are ready to dive into this contract with us next Monday at our contract ratification GMM! Over the next week we will be having divisional town halls to learn about the Tentative Agreement from our BC reps
GSU UE local 1103 has reached a full tentative agreement! This is a very strong first contract and we are so beyond grateful to our membership for taking a stand and committing to fighting for grad workers at UChicago! More details will be coming nex
We translated our strike FAQs to mandarin! Please see the full translation on our website, which you can access with the link in our bio. Thanks for all our members who contributed & helped with the translation. Please share with your coworkers!
At yesterdays bargaining session we saw what the threat of a majority of grad workers withholding their labor can do. We moved the Admin to dismantle the problematic features of the teaching structure. This is a huge win for our grad teachers/researc
Apologies for the late bargaining update! We were all a little distracted by the whirlwind of last week! Despite continuing to hold out on some MAJOR sticking points, the admin moved on several issues including paid time off and full coverage of visi
So many of us are still beaming from the General Membership Meeting last Thursday! After 1,000 members signed the strike pledge in just FOUR HOURS, hundreds more signed on over the weekend. We are on our way to a majority before the next bargaining s
The one you have all been waiting for: compensation. Let’s be so real. The University of Chicago is one of the most elite & expensive universities in the country. Grad workers who create value for the institution should not be living on the
In 2019 @uchicago proposed a teaching structure in which teaching was tied exclusively to academic progress. Since it’s implementation, the university has received pushback from both faculty and grad workers because, let’s face it, it was
IT’S FEB*RUARY which means we are ONE WEEK OUT from our next General Membership Meeting! This is one you don’t want to miss, SO RSVP NOW!! At this meeting we will be launching out strike pledge. Grad workers are tired. Tired of being unde
As graduate workers, we are vulnerable to abuses or authority. It is not normal to be scared of your boss. It is not OK to take on more than you can handle simply because you’re afraid of saying ‘no’. We need real protections in pla
Show up to the picket line with GSUs newest hottest merch 🥵⚡️ the first step of a successful strike is looking HOT 🥵 ⚡️ We are TURNING UP THE HEAT🔥🔥fashion week? More like strike pledge drop week 🔥🔥 RSVP to attend the 2/8 GMM to claim your GSU
The university continues to stall on key issues. While we made some movement on vision, dental, and visa fee coverage, we need a contract that offers a dignified wage, protections against discrimination, support for parents, and improved teaching str
Well folks we wish we had better news. Unsurprisingly the university still refuses to meet us at the table with reasonable counters that reflect the value of our labor. Workers at UChicago are sick of being taken for granted. Can you continue to go w