Update on November 5, 2026 Bargaining Session

Dear Faculty,

We write to share an update on yesterday’s (November 5, 2026) collective bargaining session with HGSU-UAW. The University remains committed to bargaining in good faith and reaching an agreement. However, we have growing concerns that HGSU-UAW does not appear to share that commitment. 

Updates from yesterday’s bargaining session include: 

  • On October 22, the University presented a comprehensive, full contract proposal for the third time since bargaining began. That proposal responded to all articles on the table and included an additional increase in compensation. At yesterday’s session, HGSU-UAW responded to only two articles, which were on issues relating to union access to campus space and orientations and accessible transit options for HGSU student workers, and did not bring counters on compensation or other core demands.  
  • The University recommended that the parties move their negotiations to mediation. HGSU-UAW did not accept the University’s offer to mediate, although this is a resource that the parties utilized in both prior negotiations to resolve outstanding issues and reach agreement.
  • Members of the University bargaining team were the target of inappropriate, disrespectful remarks by the UAW representative at the table near the scheduled end of the bargaining session. These remarks and this conduct were not only inconsiderate, but unproductive. With only a few minutes remaining in the scheduled session, the negotiations ended for the day.
  • The remarks directed at University bargaining team members follow reports to the University regarding alleged bullying of individuals who elected not to join or support the strike by HGSU-UAW members in recent days, disruption of a mid-term by union picketers in violation of the University-wide Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, and violations earlier this week of Campus Use Rules. 

The University's current proposed contract demonstrates our good faith commitment to negotiations and agreement with HGSU-UAW's priorities in many areas. This includes a 15.9% (compounded) compensation increase over the life of the contract for PhD Teaching Fellows and Research Assistants, while also bringing parity to compensation across those two job classifications. Separately, outside of the contract, the University has taken steps to ensure that benefits are available to students throughout their academic career, not just while they are members of HGSU-UAW.  More information on the University’s positions can be found on the academic unionization website.

The University continues to believe that the two parties would be best served by utilizing the services of a mediator. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) is a government agency that, since 1947, has provided mediation services to assist parties engaged in negotiations reach agreement on a final contract. It is common to engage a mediator to help the parties move forward after exhaustive efforts at the table have fallen short. 

Although a mediator does not have authority to impose a final contract or to determine actual contract terms, a mediator can work confidentially with the parties with the aim of bringing the two sides to an agreement. It would be our hope that the mediator would find ways to navigate past the barriers that both parties have encountered throughout many hours at the bargaining table in order to reach an agreement just as they have done twice before.

We have three formal collective bargaining sessions scheduled over the coming weeks and remain open to our recommendation of mediation. It is our hope that HGSU-UAW will come to the table ready to engage in meaningful, productive, and respectful discussions that resolve differences and result in a mutually agreeable contract. 

Sincerely

Jessica Soban

Deputy Provost

Paul Curran

Managing Director, Labor and Employee Relations

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