Grinnell College students are dropping their bid to expand their union. That’s amid fears their case currently before a federal board could allow regulators to undo student union rights nationwide.
Organizers and union members at private schools across the country are watching the case, and some encouraged the Grinnell students to withdraw.
“Obviously no one here considers this to be a loss, “ said Cory McCartan, a representative for the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers. “This is just…this is a victory for us as we move this from the legal sphere where we’re at a disadvantage compared to the college’s resources, to the sphere here at Grinnell College, where the student strength is really encouraging and impressive.”
Grinnell administrators oppose the union expansion and had appealed the students' plans to the National Labor Relations Board. The school says its glad to see the union members back down. An official with National Labor Relations Board still has to formally approve the union’s request to drop the case.