A supermajority of you signed cards authorizing an election, over a thousand of you have pledged to VOTE YES, and when we come back from Winter Break it will be time to vote! Over the last several weeks, your coworkers on NUGW-UE’s organizing committee have been negotiating tirelessly with Northwestern over election logistics and today we signed an agreement finalizing the details.

We have one shot at this election, which is why it is crucial for you to make your voice heard on election day and vote UNION YES. Your pledge to vote yes helps us guarantee we will turn out every single vote to win our union!

Sign the VOTE YES pledge!

Election Overview

• The election will take place on Tuesday January 10th and Wednesday January 11th
• There will be polling locations on both the Evanston and Chicago campuses
• You will be assigned a polling location based on your academic program
• Check voting hours based on your polling location (more details below)
• You must vote in person, as the NLRB no longer conducts mail-in elections
• If you can’t be present on campus to vote, you can still make your voice heard by signing the Vote Yes Pledge to stand alongside your coworkers in supporting NUGW-UE

Polling Locations

You have been assigned a polling location based on your primary academic program’s location on campus. We made every attempt in negotiations to get you assigned to the polling location closest to your offices and working places. For departments who have workers on both Evanston and Chicago campuses, we have done our best to get workers assigned to the appropriate campus for voting.

*To find out which location you are assigned to vote at, please go to this spreadsheet and look up your academic program’s name: Voting Assignments.

Chicago Campus

Voting Location: Lurie Medical Research Center*

Room 1-165 - Gray Seminar Room, 303 E. Superior St., Chicago, IL 60611

 

Evanston North Campus

Voting Location: Mudd Library*

Large Classroom 2210, 2233 Tech Dr., Evanston, IL 60208

 

Evanston South Campus

Voting Location: Parkes Hall*

Room 122, 1870 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208

All voting must take place in person. 

You will likely receive a notice from Northwestern about your polling location, but graduate organizers will be working across departments over the coming weeks to make sure that you know when and where you can vote and help you make a plan to get to the polls.

Eligible Voters

You can vote in this election if you are a graduate student currently enrolled in a Northwestern University degree program who is providing instructional and research services for the university, including graduate assistants, teaching assistants, research assistants, and fellows.

If you believe you fall into this definition, you should vote on election day. If you aren’t sure if you fall into this definition, you should still vote on election day. Please reach out to nugraduateworkers@gmail.com with questions or concerns.

How we win

You can help make this election a success by

1. Sign the VOTE YES pledge and make sure your friends, coworkers, and labmates have signed. Whether or not you will be on campus to vote yes on election day, every pledge to vote yes helps build momentum for our campaign. It’s a pledge to your fellow workers that we are standing together to fight for the workplace we deserve.

2. Make a plan to vote! If you signed the Vote Yes Pledge, a department organizer (DO) from your program or a Vote Yes Captain will be in touch to discuss election logistics and make a plan to vote. Start to think of when you will be free on these days to get to the polls, and invite your coworkers to join you.

3. Sign up to be a Vote Yes Captain! Workers organize workers in this campaign and we need your help to get our coworkers to the polls. As a Vote Yes Captain, you can be a key part of Election Day by checking in people at a meet-up point and walking to the polling location as a group - that’s all!

If you have questions about the upcoming election, get in touch with your department organizer. Organizers in every department will have the latest info on when and how to vote. You can also reach out to nugradworkers@gmail.com. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks from the NUGW-UE Organizing Committee to help you make a plan to vote.