Graduate workers are bargaining to settle their first union contract, but the administration is refusing to address serious concerns for graduate workers. This puts the quality of WPI students education at risk. Here is the email that will be sent to the administration.

Below is a template email we encourage everyone to send to the WPI administration. You can send them in one of two ways:

  1. Copy and paste the email language below into your email, and send it to these email addresses:
    To: president@wpi.edu, wsoboyejo@wpi.edu, heinrich@wpi.edu, lturner@wpi.edu
    CC: wpi.gwu@gmail.com
  2. Fill your information out in the form below, and click send. (Note: This form may cause the emails to be caught in spam folders)

Feel free to add further comments as you desire!

Email to Admins re: Bargaining

The Email will say: 

WPI administrators,

I am writing to let you know that I am concerned with the quality of education WPI can deliver while graduate workers are not being paid a living wage or given basic rights and protections. 

WPI provides its undergrads with small class sizes that allow for individualized tutoring, utilizes project-based learning in its courses, and creates the opportunity to participate in real research with close supervision and guidance - all thanks to the labor of graduate workers. Besides the valuable educational experience graduate workers provide, they keep the university going through the ground breaking research they do that leads to publications, patents, and grants.

I am disappointed that WPI has not yet proposed a living wage to graduate workers during its contract negotiations - especially with the increasing costs of attendance at the undergraduate level and the repercussions a graduate worker strike or work stoppage may have on the undergraduate curriculum and research. 

While I would like nothing more than to continue supporting WPI with my tuition dollars and by attending WPI-sponsored events, I cannot, in good faith, inadvertently bolster the reputation of a university that fails to treat its employees with dignity and respect. 

I hope this message makes clear that the administration simply can not continue to treat its graduate workers poorly and exploit them for the great contributions they provide towards undergrad education here at WPI. I will have to strongly reconsider whether WPI is a place I can consider for quality higher education.

Sincerely,

<your name>