GOLD-UE Bargaining Update

Dear Guarini community,  

I write to provide an update on our bargaining session with GOLD-UE, held on April 30.

As I mentioned in yesterday's message to Dartmouth students, faculty, and staff, graduate students are valued members of our community and play a significant role in our academic and research mission. To date, we have reached 18 tentative agreements and addressed each of GOLD-UE's proposals, often multiple times. We met again this morning hoping to make progress, come to additional agreements, and advance toward a mutually acceptable resolution.

During the April 30 bargaining session, Dartmouth discussed GOLD-UE's latest counter proposals, identifying where Dartmouth has moved towards GOLD-UE's position and GOLD-UE has not countered. For example, Dartmouth proposed a new benefit for GOLD-UE members where Dartmouth would pay 25% of dependent health insurance premiums (with no limit on number of dependents). In response, GOLD-UE refused to offer a new counter.  

Dartmouth also explored potential areas where it could demonstrate flexibility to attain a mutually beneficial agreement with the hope that GOLD-UE would do the same. GOLD-UE clarified their core positions, but made no offers, proposals, or counter proposals that could move bargaining forward. Substantive discussion on articles did not occur nor did we reach a tentative agreement. 

Although Dartmouth is disappointed at the lack of movement by GOLD-UE, we remain committed to achieving a fair and equitable contract in a timely manner. Dartmouth offered both an additional meeting with GOLD-UE this week and to engage a neutral mediator to help the parties reach an agreement.  We are confident that our proposals are both fair and competitive, aligning closely with those recently negotiated by peer institutions with graduate unions and balancing the diverse needs of our entire community. A summary of Dartmouth's economic proposals are available on our website. We are hopeful that GOLD-UE will engage in constructive conversations to reach an equitable resolution. 

Dartmouth and GOLD-UE plan to reconvene on Friday, May 3. In the meantime, GOLD-UE began their strike today at 7:30 a.m. We will work to ensure our students are not adversely impacted by the strike and will continue to support the learning of students in our classrooms and the progress of our research projects. 

New and updated FAQS addressing recently raised questions and a comprehensive list of bargaining updates are available on the provost website.

Sincerely,
David Kotz

Provost