Contract Ratified!

Ratification vote results have been fully tallied by OpaVote.

Contract is ratified: 1713 Y to 647 N

Prior to 3 PM CT on March 13th, 2,525 Northwestern grad workers signed NUGW-UE Local 1122 member cards. 2360 members cast their vote for a turnout of 93.47% of NUGW-UE Local 1122 membership!

As your Co-Chairs, Kavi and Esther, we want to relay our sincere appreciation for the hard work of thousands of graduate workers that has brought this moment to fruition. This transformative contract would not have been possible without breaking the norms of academia and building collective efforts between all of our schools. That work has not ended—it has just begun. It’s time to enforce this contract and continue building our power for even bigger wins in the months and years to come.

What's Next?

Two important new committees to enforce the contract right away and build a foundation for a strong local.

• • Members of the Bargaining Committee will transition into the Interim Grievance Committee (IGC) to train Interim Stewards to begin the work of enforcing the contract while the NUGW-UE Local 1122 Constitution is drafted.
  • Members of NUGW-UE Local 1122 will elect a Constitution Committee with 25 members based on the number of graduate workers within a given school. An Election Committee (EC) made up of elected NUGW representatives (2023-24 term) will run the election of the Constitution Committee.

More info on all committees below:

Interim Grievance Committee

Members of the Bargaining Committee will transition into the Interim Grievance Committee (IGC) to train Interim Stewards to begin the work of enforcing the contract while the NUGW-UE Local 1122 Constitution is drafted. Interim Stewards will serve on a voluntary basis until the Stewards Election which will take place once the Local has a Constitution. The Constitution will be drafted by a duly elected Constitution Committee. The process for the election of this committee by membership is described below.

Elected Constitution Committee

An Election Committee (EC) made up of elected NUGW representatives (2023-24 term) will run the election of the Constitution Committee through OpaVote. This committee will establish and oversee election rules to allow for a smooth process consistent with past election protocols. No member of the Election Committee may be a candidate for the Constitution Committee.

The Constitution Committee will have a similar structure to that established last year for the bargaining committee, and the committee will be chaired by UE National General President Carl Rosen, who served in the same role for MIT GSU UE Local 256. Carl has worked extensively with other UE grad locals on their constitutions over the years, including with NUGW in Spring 2023. Following the structure of BC, there will be a total of 25 seats on the committee. Members of NUGW-UE Local 1122 will elect a certain number of members to the Constitution Committee based on the number of graduate workers within a given school, as follows:

• Bienen School of Music (1 seat)
• Feinberg School of Medicine (3 seats)
• Kellogg School of Business (1 seat)
• McCormick School of Engineering (6 seats)
• School of Communications (2 seats)
• School of Education and Social Policy (1 seat)
• Weinberg STEM (5 seats)
• Weinberg Humanities and Social Sciences (6 seats)

Candidates will be nominated by other NUGW-UE Local 1122 members or will self-nominate and subsequently will be notified by the Election Committee to confirm or reject nominations. The Election Committee will circulate forms and instructions for nominations. Rules for campaigning will be in place and communicated to NUGW-UE Local 1122 membership by the Election Committee. As a reminder, you must be a member of NUGW-UE Local 1122 to vote in union elections, run for elected union positions (including the Constitution Committee), attend General Membership Meetings (GMMs), and participate in the decision-making and democracy of our union.

Now that the contract is ratified, NUGW-UE Local 1122 is operating under the National UE Constitution until the Constitution Committee formally proposes a Constitution and it is ratified by NUGW-UE Local 1122 membership vote.

The Contract Era, Chicago Elections, and Spring Break!

We are entering a new era of our union backed by a union contract. The Election Committee will continue to work over Spring Break to ensure smooth logistics as they work towards the Election for the Constitution Committee. Besides the EC, NUGW-UE is on Spring Break! Let’s all get some well deserved rest from our research and union organizing. Stay tuned for more information on member meetings as NUGW-UE enters this new era.

Reminder: March 19th is Election Day for Illinois! If you are a local resident and eligible voter, make sure to cast your ballots in the Illinois primary and local elections. Illinois has same day voter registration so if you are not yet a registered voter you can sign up day of at the polls. Make your voice heard!

No union meetings next week. Wishing everyone a restful and restorative Spring Break!