Dartmouth and Vanderbilt grad students challenge union practices over privacy and religious objections

Ben Logsdon, a Ph.D. student in mathematics at Dartmouth College, is challenging union practices that he believes infringe on his religious rights. The issue arose when Graduate Organized Laborers of Dartmouth (GOLD-UE) union officials, affiliated with the United Electrical (UE) union, allegedly forced him to accept their representation despite his objections based on religious grounds.

In New Hampshire, Logsdon sought legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation against GOLD-UE. He filed federal anti-discrimination charges in September 2024 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), stating that he requested removal from the bargaining unit due to his religious beliefs but was denied accommodation by United Electrical General Secretary-Treasurer Andrew Dinkelaker.

Logsdon's case follows a similar situation at MIT where Jewish graduate students opposed dues payments to an anti-Israel union. Meanwhile, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, three graduate students are resisting efforts by Vanderbilt Graduate Workers United (VGWU), affiliated with the United Auto Workers, to access their private information for unionization purposes. The students argue that such demands violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).