Indiana University graduate student Olivia Johnson walks the picket line outside of Ballentine Hall on campus during thier strike on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Rich Janzaruk/Herald Times
There was a celebratory air outside of Indiana University’s Ballantine Hall on Wednesday, as Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC) members held up picket signs calling for union recognition and marched to the beat of a pounding drum.
It was their first day of a three-day strike against IU that they hope will apply renewed pressure on the university to recognize their union and pay graduate workers a living wage, as defined by the MIT Living Wage calculator.
But Michael McCarthy, a financial officer for the IGWC, said he and his fellow coalition members would rather be teaching.
“We want to be back in our classrooms, teaching our students,” McCarthy said. “We don’t want to have to strike, but we’ve been forced to.”It was a sentiment shared by many coalition members as they abstained from teaching, grading and other instructional duties to picket just two weeks out from the final day of classes at IU. But it was a cause they felt was necessary.
“I think it should be clear by now that the union is here to stay,” said Zara Anwarzai, an organizing coordinator for the coalition. “And we’ll keep doing this until we’re recognized.”
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