Graduate workers began holding meetings in living rooms & basements to discuss the ongoing housing crisis in the Upper Valley and rampant abuse in our workplace. We recognized that there is only one effective way to address these issues: a united organization, by and for graduate workers, that understands the power of collective action. So, we set out to build a union. 

We voted overwhelmingly to affiliate with the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE), a national member-led union that has organized over 25,000 graduate workers across the United States. We chose to join UE because of the organization's dedication to democracy, equity, militancy, and rank-and-file control. You can read more about UE here. 

We publicly announced our campaign to unionize and began collecting union cards from graduate workers on October 12, 2022. Hundreds of community members joined our rally in solidarity, and over 50% of all graduate workers signed cards to become GOLD-UE members on the first day of our campaign. 

We held an election for union recognition on April 11 and 12 of 2023. Our union won by a margin of 89%, despite Dartmouth's attempt to exclude 54% of graduate workers from our union. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) officially certified our union on April 20. You can read more about our unprecedented recognition election here. 

We began negotiating for our premiere contract in August 2023. We won precedent-setting protections against workplace abuse and discrimination and continued bargaining for a living wage, cost of living adjustments (COLA), comprehensive healthcare benefits, and more until we had no choice but to go on strike. 

On May 1, 2024, we went out on strike for a fair contract. The Upper Valley DSA chapter ran a strike kitchen for the two months we stayed out which provided three free meals per day on the picket line, which we held on the Dartmouth Green.

On July 1, 2024, our first contract went into effect after ten months of bargaining and two months on strike. You can find details about our first contract, which will expire at the end of June 2027, here.

After graduate workers who struck teaching labor in the Math department were assigned additional "half" TA assignments during the 2024-25 academic year without backpay of their missed wages, we filed a formal grievance with the College. The College failed to respond adequately during the three steps of our grievance process. We voted to take the College to arbitration. We cannot accept discrimination against members who participated in collective action.