Labor
Contrary to the historical prowess of labor unions in the city, UChicago has continuously attempted to deny the workers rights and their contributions to the upkeep of this campus. UChicago is a collection of tens of thousands of individuals, including janitors, secretaries, undergraduate and graduate workers, shuttle drivers, faculty, security, teaching assistants, engineers, lecturers, nurses and a vast galaxy of other workers. All of these workers keep the university running, yet the university reliably fails to respect or fairly compensate them. Many campus workers have formed unions in order to win fair wages, benefits and working conditions: and have taken action to make sure that employees’ voices are heard by the administration.
The Library Activist Network at UChicago is a group of abolitionist library workers demanding an end to policing in all forms in library spaces, the abolition of UCPD, and reparations to the communities harmed by UChicago. We work to foster worker and student solidarity across the library and campus. They are committed to imaging and creating non-hierarchical, restorative spaces to fight against the destructive effects of capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy.
The University of Chicago Labor (UCLC) is a coalition of workers, union representatives, and community members from across the University of Chicago system and the surrounding neighborhoods. They bring together union workers workers represented by National Nurses United Teamsters Local 743, Graduate Students United, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Locals 1 and 73, SEIU Faculty Forward and the American Association of University Professors, and various unaffiliated or non-union University workers. We work together to increase collaboration, communication, and solidarity between members unions, other labor groups, and related community organizations.
Student workers at the library have won wage increases, more benefits, and more protection in recent times. Student wages have only increased along with minimum wage for as long as activists have been able to track. There have always been a handful of student positions that earn more, but as of the time the contract was negotiated 152 of 206 student library workers made minimum wage and only 29 student workers made more than a dollar above minimum wage. This contract has raised the floor for a lot of student workers. The contract is a major win for labor organizing at the university.
Graduate Students United (GSU): GSU represents graduate student workers on campus. At UChicago, Most Graduate Programs require grad students to work as teaching assistants, while completing research, coursework, and additional work to fulfill their dissertation requirements. In October of 2017, GSU won a union recognition vote by an overwhelming margin, yet were not recognized by the University. In 2022 the GSU voted once more to be recognized by the University as an official union and were in March of 2023, they are currently bargaining with the University.
