Dartmouth Undergraduate Workers Are Unionizing
Undergraduate student workers at Dartmouth are forming a union. Jacobin spoke to five student workers and union organizers about how the campaign started, what they’ve won so far, and how other student workers across the country can organize campus labor.
Student workers and supporters at Dartmouth deliver their petition to the Darmouth administration. (Courtesy of Deborah Jung and SWCD)
On January 5, student workers at Dartmouth Dining Services (DDS) at Dartmouth College announced their intent to unionize. Since then, they have won a temporary 50 percent raise for DDS student workers and secured COVID-19 sick pay for all Dartmouth student workers. In February, they reached an election agreement with the college’s administration. On March 31, they will vote in a union election.
Their organizing is the latest in a wave of undergraduate student worker organizing and follows in the steps of campaigns at Kenyon College and Columbia University. Leena Yumeen spoke with student workers Noemi Fernandes, Ian Scott, Alejandro Morales, Sheen Kim, and Andy Payne about the campaign’s timeline and strategies. The transcript has been edited for clarity and length.
Leena Yumeen
Can you describe the current working conditions at Dartmouth for student workers?
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.