This story was originally produced by the Valley News. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Campus cafes at Dartmouth are returning to normal operating hours this week after undergraduate student workers ended their strike amid plans to resolve contract disagreements with the college.
The Student Workers Collective at Dartmouth, or SWCD, announced the end of its two week strike late Monday on social media.
“We plan to resolve our ongoing contract disagreements with the College as soon as possible through mediation,” an Instagram post from the union’s account said.
The post also said the union, which represents 300 undergraduate students who work in dining services and as undergraduate advisors, or resident assistants, would not release “any further reflections on the strike” until mediation is over.
The strike’s conclusion comes after the college reached out to the SWCD offering labor mediation last week, Jana Barnello, a spokesperson for the college, wrote in an email to the Valley News.
Labor mediation is a session with a neutral third-party who seeks to assist the two parties in reaching an agreement.
“We are thankful to SWCD for responding quickly and agreeing to participate,” Barnello said.
The two parties are working to schedule mediation “as soon as possible,” she said.
The sticking points include the union’s request that Dartmouth cover undergraduate advisors’ room and board, and compensate them for hours spent in training.
The students also are asking for certain protections for union members who are non-citizens, such as allocating $30,000 a year to a legal assistance fund and to have representatives of the administration meet with union organizers upon request “to discuss issues and concerns regarding the needs of international and undocumented students,” the SWCD’s April 17 “best and final” contract offer said.
As a result of the strike ending, the four main student-run cafes where hours had been reduced will resume normal operating hours by Wednesday, Barnello said.
These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.
