Members of a union for students who work in Grinnell College dining halls say they’re still open to negotiating with administrators to avoid a prolonged legal battle.
Grinnell College officials are asking federal regulators to nullify the union’s vote to expand its membership to student assistants, tutors and others. Quinn Ercolani, is the Grinnell student union’s president. “Grinnell is so proud of what it is as an institution and the values that it has,” he says, “and yet they’re on a mission to destroy the foundation of student unionization across the country.”
Ercolani is hoping Grinnell College administrators will reconsider and negotiate with the union organizers among the student body. “That’s what being in a union is all about, is about that aspect of negotiation,” he says, “so right now we’re just really trying to get them to take a closer look at the framework agreement and realize that it’s the best thing for both of us.” Grinnell administrators say they can’t negotiate with the union while their appeal is pending.
(Thanks to Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio/Photo from Grinnell College webpage)