As the world has shifted online, so have the organizations working to make it a more equitable place. The Washington University Graduate and Undergraduate Workers Union (WUGWU) has changed their organizational structure and their advocacy to meet the unique demands of the pandemic.

In one of her first meetings as a Ph.D. candidate, a professor asked Carolyn Barnes if she was married. Was she married to a man? Was she planning on having children while completing her doctorate?

Protestors moved Martinville from the Brookings Quadrangle to outside of Harbison House, Chancellor Wrighton’s residence, Tuesday night. After being informed they were trespassing on private property by University officials, they moved again to outside Graham Chapel.

Washington University Graduate Workers Union (WUGWU) held a teach-in gathering on the Brookings Quadrangle stage Monday afternoon.

What started as an alliance between WUGWU and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1 has grown into a cross-campus movement headquartered at Brookings Quadrangle. While the Fight for $15 is nothing new on campus, it’s gaining more attention than ever before with the decision to occupy Brookings Quadrangle with a tent city dubbed “Martinville.”

The Washington University Graduate Workers Union is currently occupying Brookings Quadrangle in its latest protest for a $15 an hour minimum wage and free subsidized child care for all University employees.

This situation would never have occurred had the University previously taken more initiative to work with Fight for $15 members to create a clear plan to address the organization’s demands.

Washington University Graduate Workers Union (WUGWU) marched through campus in a protest that culminated in a Fight for $15 rally at Brookings Quadrangle and a sit-in at Chancellor-elect Andrew Martin’s office April 15.

The majority of organizers for economic empowerment on campus are graduate students or union members. Only a small percentage of those at rallies are undergraduate students, despite all the rhetoric about Wash. U. being an engaged student body. Does that sit well with you, Wash. U.?

Considering our university’s commitment to academic freedom, we can think of no greater academic liberty than to be free from the threat of being torn from one’s vocation, home, and loved ones.