UMaine Grad Workers & Allies March on President's Office to Protest Policy Changes Without Union Input

PHOTO: UMaine Grad Workers deliver a message to a staffer for UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy.

During Summer Institute on Thursday, union members from across the state joined members of the University of Maine Graduate Student Union (UMGWU-UAW Local 7650) for a powerful action to call out management on a multitude of issues facing their members.

The group marched to the university president's office to deliver a letter and more than 50 member testimonials articulating issues of concern on payroll practices and health care benefits that university administrators have been unilaterally implementing without input from the union. The president's office was packed with graduate student members and allies as they read their letter aloud and made their points demanding inclusion on decision making at the university. The bargaining unit is more than 900 members strong and achieved their first collective bargaining agreement in December 2025.