Montana
University of Montana graduate students from new union, one of largest in state • Daily Montanan
Graduate students at the University of Montana in Missoula have formed a union after two years of organizing, and with more than 400 eligible members, it will be one of the largest in the state.
The Department of Labor and Industry certified the UM Graduate Employees Union last week, according to the Montana Federation of Public Employees.
“Our organizing message was simple,” said Colette Berg, an organizing lead and UM graduate employee, in a statement from MFPE. “Graduate employees’ wages, benefits, and working conditions aren’t keeping up with Missoula’s cost of living or honoring our roles in research, teaching, and learning. Everyone realizes we’re a lynchpin for UM, and we look forward to bargaining collectively with UM’s leadership to collaboratively address the challenges GEU members face.”
The labor movement has been active in the U.S. in recent years, including in Missoula, where the cost of housing has far outpaced wages. However, the proportion of workers who belong to a union has generally declined in the country during the last couple of decades.
Graduate students are especially difficult to organize because they are spread across a campus and work on different contracts that can range from two to five years, according to the Montana Federation of Public Employees.
According to the Montana State University Graduate Employee Organization in Bozeman, they’re also not easy to sustain. The Graduate Employee Organization counts 169 members.
MSU Graduate Employee Organization President M Wittkop said a graduate student union has challenges that are different from other locals. That’s because a campus union is made up of students — whose members by definition are constantly graduating and moving on.
MSU graduates formed their student union in 2015, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. Bozeman also has notoriously high housing costs.
A report from an April 2024 graduate union assembly in Bozeman said the local will need new members in order to avoid dissolution. However, Wittkop also said the union has driven significant wins for its members, including in 2023.
“We got one of the biggest raises across the board for all graduates,” Wittkop said.
The increase amounts to roughly $100 more a month for the minimum allowable stipend a graduate student can be paid, or currently $760 a month, they said. The minimum will go up another $100 on Aug. 1.
“We also put in more strict limits on how many classes a TA (teaching assistant) can be assigned and changed language around work environment to protect students against ‘PI abuse,’” Wittkop said.
(That’s the potential abuse of power a thesis advisor or PI, a principal investigator, might enact over a student, they said.)
The graduate union also completed a cost of living survey, which among other things, showed 45% of respondents had skipped “necessary medical care” to save money, and 46% had skipped meals or eaten less to save money.
Additionally, the survey found 57% of graduate students needed second jobs, such as pet sitting, while in school. Of 826 graduate assistants, 184 responded to the 2024 survey, according to the union.
Wittkop said they believe the union has the potential for longevity if it can find new members, but the current challenge is broadcasting its existence.
“We’re going to have to really put in the work to find these people,” Wittkop said.
The Montana University System already counts 23 collective bargaining agreements covering roughly 2,374 people of an estimated 9,000 total employees, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. That doesn’t include the new union at UM.
Faculty at the Bozeman campus formed a union that was approved in 2011 but then decertified in April 2013, according to the Commissioner’s Office.
At UM, a faculty union and classified staff union have long been active, and MFPE President Amanda Curtis said the organization looks forward to supporting the new graduate student union as well. Berg could not be reached for additional comment.
“We are so proud of the graduate employees at UM who have now organized and certified Montana’s largest new union in years,” Curtis said in a statement. “Their commitment to ensuring graduate employees have a strong voice in their working conditions and wages is what unionism is all about.”
A couple of years ago, the Missoula Tenants Union formed in the Garden City, and nurses at Providence St. Patrick Hospital recently — and visibly — renegotiated their contract; signs advocating support for the nurses popped up across the community.
The Montana Federation of Public Employees said collective bargaining at UM has been marked by a respectful and fair relationship between union members and university leadership for decades.
In an email, UM spokesperson Dave Kuntz said the university worked with the Department of Labor and Industry and the Commissioner’s Office throughout the process — clearly defined in statute — with graduate students.
“Graduate students are critical to UM,” Kuntz said in an email. “Their scholarship, research, and teaching help to advance our entire state and address many of the most pressing issues facing society.”
The labor movement has been historically strong in Montana. Last year, roughly 13% of workers were represented by a union compared to roughly 10% of those in the U.S., according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The news release from Montana Federation of Public Employees said the state certified the new Graduate Employees Union at UM on June 25, and it is MFPE’s newest local with “full collective bargaining rights to secure a fair contract.”
HELENA, Mont — Gov. Greg Gianforte is backing a new effort to keep data centers from driving up Montanans’ power bills.
This week, Gianforte announced Montana is signing on to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge — an initiative endorsed by President Trump.
Several major technology companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and XAI first signed the pledge back in March.
The pledge comes as data center development continues to grow — raising questions about how much new energy will be needed and who will pay for it.
NBC Montana spoke with Julia Haggerty, professor of geography and department head of earth sciences at Montana State University, about whether Montana’s power grid is ready for that growth.
“Not without resolution of significant transmission bottlenecks and massive amounts of new generation. So, while our grid is adequately, relatively adequately equipped to serve the needs of our current load base, it’s definitely not equipped to accommodate the new demands without a lot of expansion,” she said.
According to the pledge, data center developers will pay for new power generation, and infrastructure needed to support their operations.
“It does align with ongoing regulatory efforts to ensure that the cost of new generation associated with data centers is borne by the developers of those data centers and not customers,” Haggerty said.
The governor’s office says Gianforte’s support of the pledge is designed to encourage responsible data center investments while protecting Montana ratepayers from long-term costs.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 7, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from July 7 drawing
02-31-35-36-63, Mega Ball: 12
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 7 drawing
09-21-24-29, Bonus: 15
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 7 drawing
27-43-48-49-50, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
-
West Virginia2 minutes agoWest Virginia retailers told to allow people to purchase soda with SNAP benefits
-
Wyoming9 minutes agoWyoming women escape black bear attack on their tents in the Big Horn Mountains
-
Crypto12 minutes agoBinance maintains commitment to EU, seeking more licences in Asia
-
Finance17 minutes agoHow Banreservas mobilised diaspora capital
-
Fitness24 minutes agoI’d Fallen Into an Exercise Rut—Until Trail Running Reminded Me How Joyful Movement Could Be
-
Movie Reviews32 minutes agoMovie review: Supergirl is a blast
-
World37 minutes agoTrump Says He Thinks He Will Remove Syria From US Terrorism Sponsor List
-
Lifestyle1 hour agoAppeals court denies Trump’s request to halt removal of his name from the Kennedy Center
