On July 7, the Student Worker Collective at Dartmouth and the College reached a final contract deal for both student dining workers and undergraduate advisors. The final agreements were “largely” included in the College’s April contract offers, according to College spokesperson Jana Barnello.
This comes after SWCD’s two-week strike, which began in May in response to the College’s final offer to the union.
The new contracts include an annual 3% increase in pay for dining workers and UGAs, according to Barnello. The student dining worker contract increases holiday pay and expands paid time off and mental health leave. Both contracts reinforce grievances procedures for workers, according to SWCD.
Under the new contract, UGAs will also receive a $400 training stipend, an agreement not included in the College’s April offer.
The union said the contracts are an “accomplishment.”
“SWCD remains proud of our workers for their bravery on going on strike and is proud of our contract accomplishments,” the union wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth.
The student union has also vied for protections from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The new contracts will “guarantee that Dartmouth’s protocol for federal agents on campus applies to SWCD members,” according to Barnello.
This requires immigration officers to present a judicial warrant or subpoena to access non-public areas on campus, a policy the College agreed to in negotiations during a pro-Palestinian protest on May 1. The protocol does not require a warrant or subpoena for federal agents to enter public areas on campus, which the union called for throughout the bargaining process.
“This achievement makes SWCD the only undergraduate union in the country to have bargained twice for a contract and to strike specifically over protections from ICE and law enforcement,” the union wrote.
Bargaining sessions for the new contract began in November 2024 in anticipation of the expiration of the contract this March. SWCD said the strike brought College officials “back to the bargaining table” in June, after the College presented their final offer in April.
“Despite facing Dartmouth’s misinformation campaign and bad-faith tactics both at the bargaining table and publicly, our union held our picket line for two weeks, forcing the administration to come back to the bargaining table and move on key issues related to UGA compensation,” the union wrote.
The agreements mark the second contract for student dining workers and the first for UGAs, according to SWCD.
