GOLD-UE Bargaining Update

Dear Guarini community,  

I write to provide an update on the February 22 bargaining session with GOLD-UE. During this meeting, we discussed the Guaranteed Funding/Transitional Funding, Employee Assistance, Bargaining Unit Information, Union Security and Check Off, No Strike/No Lockout, and Nondiscrimination articles.

Guaranteed Funding/Transitional Funding
Our Guaranteed Funding discussion has centered on the number of years of guaranteed funding. Dartmouth currently offers five years of guaranteed funding for doctoral students. For Transitional Funding, which provides support when a student needs to change research advisors or groups, we discussed whether this provision should be subject to grievance and arbitration and whether the union should be one of the parties who must sign off on this additional funding.

Employee Assistance
We reached a tentative agreement on several points within the Employee Assistance article, such as language changes and making the F/EAP program available to bargaining unit members. The remaining sections in Employee Assistance, including providing driver education to union members, are still under discussion.   

Bargaining Unit Information
We reached a tentative agreement on the Bargaining Unit article. This article requires GOLD-UE to obtain a signed release from their members and provide it to Dartmouth to obtain information protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This information may also be information to which a union is entitled under the National Labor Relations Act. This article allows Dartmouth to protect student data in adherence with FERPA.

Union Security and Check Off
We continued our discussion of Union Security and Check Off, which is the article that covers whether students must join the union as a condition of employment and the terms of dues collection.  

No Strike/No Lockout
The No Strike/No Lockout article is still under discussion. This article provides assurance that in exchange for Dartmouth not locking out union members, the union will not strike when the collective bargaining agreement is in effect.  

Grievance Procedure/Non-Discrimination
The Grievance Procedure/Non-Discrimination article is under discussion, with disagreement on a time frame for bringing forward a grievance involving harassment and discrimination. 

Dartmouth remains committed to working with GOLD-UE to reach a mutually beneficial agreement and appreciates the efforts of the GOLD-UE bargaining committee.

Our next bargaining session is scheduled for March 7. I will provide additional updates following that meeting. An overview and FAQs about the graduate union organization at Dartmouth are available on the provost's website. 

Sincerely,
David Kotz
Provost