The Student Worker Collective at Dartmouth began a strike this morning after seven months of negotiations with the College. The union — which represents Dartmouth Dining student workers and undergraduate advisors — is calling for higher pay and improved benefits, among other demands.
SWCD organizing committee member Klaire Theall ’27 said the committee chose to strike because the College effectively ended negotiations.
“They have told us, [in giving] their last, best, final offer, that they will no longer move on our demands, and they won’t meet us back at the bargaining table,” she said. “There’s really no other means for us” to move forward, other than striking.
The strike comes after the College gave the union their “last, best and final” contract offer in a bargaining session on April 17, according to College spokesperson Jana Barnello — offering dining workers higher pay, a commitment to keeping jobs safe from automation and greater meal credits, among other concessions. For UGAs, Dartmouth offered a more expensive meal plan and a 3% increase to their stipend.
In an op-ed in The Dartmouth about a week later, union leaders wrote that the College’s offer was “no win.”
“What this means is that the College’s legal counsel rejected meeting with our rank-and-file, student-led bargaining team moving forward, making it more challenging to contractually preserve many of our vital protections for student workers,” they wrote.
“Dartmouth’s proposal fails to meaningfully protect international students and student workers, and fails to address our union’s most important demands,” continued the op-ed, which was penned by Hosaena Tilahun ’25, Harper Richardson ’27 and Fiona Stawarz ’25.
The SWCD countered with their own final contract offer on May 2 with a list of demands for the College. For UGAs, the SWCD is asking for paid training hours and for professionals to lead sensitive training topics. They are also looking for standardized hiring practices to prevent discrimination and a UGA stipend of $3,675 per term, including a bonus for those in charge of first-year students. The stipend would equate to a $21 hourly wage for an expected 17.5 hours per week, according to a copy of the SWCD’s final offer reviewed by The Dartmouth.
For student dining workers, the SWCD proposed a base wage of $23 per hour with a yearly increase tied to the rate of tuition increases — which would be 4.75% for the coming year.
The College offered dining workers a base wage of $23 per hour — alongside 3% annual increase to base hourly wages with $0.50 termly wage increases. However, the increases would not be tied to tuition hikes.
The current starting wage for student dining workers is $21.70. However, the average wage for student dining workers this term was $24.94 per hour because of termly pay increases.
The union is also demanding job protection from automation and bereavement leave and a $30,000 legal assistance fund. After a pro-Palestinian encampment on Parkhurst Lawn on May 1, the College promised international students access to a legal fund of up to $5,000 per student.
SWCD is also vying for protection from Immigration and Customs Enforcement on campus, asking Dartmouth to require judicial arrest or search warrants for ICE to enter campus. On May 1, responding to pro-Palestinian protesters, Dartmouth agreed to revise their law enforcement policy. The policy now requires visiting immigration officers to present a judicial warrant or subpoena to access non-public areas.
In a statement to campus this afternoon, Provost David Kotz ’86 and senior vice president for operations Josh Keniston explained how College life would continue with the union on strike. The email said the strike would not affect service at ’53 Commons, Collis Cafe or Courtyard Cafe — but there “may be” reduced hours at other cafes in the evenings and on weekends.
To accommodate the UGA strike, residential education assistant directors will carry out building walkthroughs and hold office hours. However, residential community events “may be modified” because of the strike, according to the email.
The email from the College also linked to Dartmouth’s final offer to the union.
In an interview today, Richardson said that some dining locations were already seeing the effects of losing student workers.
“Baker Cafe was closed, Ramekin was scrambling, Novack was slow,” she said. “We’re confident that the school needs us.”
In an interview with The Dartmouth, Theall described the College’s final offer as “bare bones.”
“They have not been in contact with us since April 21, when they said they will no longer meet us at the bargaining table,” she said.
In a statement, Barnello said the College gave “careful consideration” to the SWCD’s proposals.
“The contracts represent areas of meaningful compromise and a fair, responsible and respectful outcome of our shared work,” Barnello wrote.
Barnello wrote that the SWCD’s final contract offer introduced new proposals that had “never been raised previously,” including new details about UGA training.
“These actions are inconsistent with good faith bargaining practices and underscore the parties remain far apart on key issues,” she wrote.
Richardson called for support from students across Dartmouth’s campus, asking students to only eat at ’53 Commons and the Courtyard Cafe. Student workers typically work at other, smaller cafe locations on campus.
Dartmouth Student Government will support the strikers by funding a “strike cafe” outside of Novack Cafe, according to a DSG email this evening.
Last week, DSG ratified a proposal to set aside $1,800 for a cafe if student workers go on strike. The strike cafe would serve coffee and baked goods from Lou’s to up to around 170 people over three days. It would be staffed by DSG members and SWCD volunteers, according to past reporting by The Dartmouth.
Organizing committee member Nadine Formiga ’25 said she hopes the College treats SWCD with “more respect” in the future.
“They’ve treated our demands as childish and belittled them as passionate and made it seem like they’re not related to the workplace, which is untrue,” she said. “So, with this strike, we’re also hoping that they will treat us with the respect that we deserve.”
Charlotte Hampton ’26 contributed to reporting.
Kent Friel ‘26 is an executive editor at The Dartmouth.
