Graduate Labor Union – United Electrical Local 1105, or GLU-UE for short, is the labor union representing graduate workers at the University of Minnesota (or, “the U”). Graduate workers conduct many of the essential tasks that support the U’s essential functions. We teach classes, grade coursework, conduct research, and manage labs. The U works because we do. 

As a local of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, we have the support of a national union representing workers in many industries, including graduate workers at other universities. We are a member-run union, meaning that union leaders are members of the union. As of January 2025, we are working under our first contract with the U, which established many new rights and protections for grad workers. Currently, we are working on negotiating for the inclusion of graduate fellows in a contract.

How We Got Here

GLU-UE began in 2020 when a group of graduate workers, concerned with the University’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, began organizing around better protections from illness in the workplace. The pandemic highlighted long standing issues that many graduate workers face, including poverty wages, high student fees, and vulnerability to harassment and discrimination. 

Over the following years, GLU-UE gained support by organizing grad workers through issue campaigns. Some campaigns were met with success; the Universal Transit Pass was instituted in response to one petition. However, the administration flatly ignored the other demands around pay, fees, and parking, clearly demonstrating the limits of what issue campaigns and petitions could achieve. We learned that to meet the needs of graduate workers, we need a union with the power to bargain over a contract. 

The unionization campaign went public on February 20th, 2023 with a snowy rally and the beginning of a card drive to indicate graduate workers’ interest in voting to form a union. After just four weeks, a supermajority of 2,800 total graduate workers signed cards were filed with the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services, the body overseeing public sector union relations in Minnesota. In April 2023, 97% of grad workers voted “yes” to form GLU-UE.

From September 2023 to December 2024, our bargaining committee (or “BC”), comprising grad workers representing programs across the University, bargained with the University to negotiate our contract. In this first contract, GLU-UE aimed to codify or increase protections and benefits that are currently insufficient or inconsistent across programs, including but not limited to:

  • Higher pay and lower fees
  • Comprehensive benefits
  • Transparency and security on the job
  • Anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and employment grievance procedures
  • Increased support for international graduate workers

You can see the full contract here.

How You Can Support GLU

If you want to support GLU-UE as a community member:

As a Graduate Worker at the University of Minnesota: