cogs

Name

cogs

Legal name

United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) Local 896, COGS (Campaign to Organize Graduate Students)

Website

https://cogs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Graduate Student Labor Union

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDABAIAK

Labor Relations & Union Management Training

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/HR, Talent, DEI & People Operations Training

Keywords

• Graduate labor union
• Collective bargaining representation
• Workplace grievance support
• Labor rights advocacy
• Union membership services

Headquarters

HQ city

Iowa City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: COGS generates revenue through monthly membership dues paid by graduate student workers. Dues are $30 per month for full members and $15 per month for members on contracts less than 50% (less than 20 hours per week). Due to Iowa's right-to-work laws and Chapter 20 restrictions, dues cannot be automatically deducted from paychecks, requiring members to pay directly through ACH, credit card, Google Pay, or Apple Pay.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

COGS is a graduate student labor union that organizes and represents University of Iowa teaching and research assistants through collective bargaining over wages, benefits, and working conditions. It supports graduate workers with workplace-rights advocacy, grievance handling, and representation in investigatory meetings.

Product overview

UE Local 896 - COGS is a graduate student labor union at the University of Iowa offering membership-based services including collective bargaining representation, grievance filing, workplace rights protection, and member communication via the COGnition newsletter. The union also sells merchandise to support activities. All services are funded through membership dues ($30/month standard, $15/month half-rate).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UE Local 896 - COGS Membership Voluntary monthly membership for University of Iowa graduate student workers, providing collective-bargaining representation, workplace-rights advocacy, grievance handling, and representation in investigatory meetings.
• COGS Merchandise Union-branded t-shirts and hats, including special anniversary designs, sold to support COGS activities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Minimum half-time academic year salary increased from $10,500 (1995-96) to $22,068 (2024-2025), a 110% increase over 29 years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUE is COGS's parent union, providing guidance, assistance, and resources since COGS first organized in 1996. UE provides legal assistance, national union field organizers (Greg Cross assists with contract negotiations, grievance handling and arbitration, training, and organizing), and operates as a national democratically-run union since 1936. COGS sends delegates to UE National Convention and Western Regional Council.
• UE Western Regional CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOGS is affiliated with the UE Western Regional Council, United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America, as stated in the COGS Constitution Article 2.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• United Auto Workers (UAW): The UAW represents graduate student and other academic student employees through university locals and negotiates collective-bargaining agreements. Its university-worker organizing and member-funded labor model directly overlap COGS's core activities.
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT): AFT represents higher-education employees and has graduate-student and academic-worker affiliates that bargain over pay, benefits, and working conditions. It is a close labor-organization peer even though its scope extends beyond graduate workers.
• Teaching Assistants' Association (TAA), University of Wisconsin–Madison: TAA is a graduate teaching assistant union at UW–Madison that organizes and bargains for teaching assistants. It matches COGS's campus-based membership, representation, and collective-bargaining model.
• United Auto Workers Local 4121: UAW Local 4121 represents academic student employees at the University of Washington, including graduate workers. It is a direct peer in campus labor representation and collective bargaining.
• United Auto Workers Local 2865: UAW Local 2865 represents academic student employees at University of California campuses. Its graduate-worker representation, member-funded structure, and collective-bargaining role are closely comparable to COGS.
• United Auto Workers Local 4811: UAW Local 4811 represents student researchers at University of California campuses. It shares COGS's graduate-worker advocacy and university bargaining environment, with a narrower research-assistant focus.
• Graduate Employees' Organization (GEO), University of Michigan: GEO is a graduate student employee union at the University of Michigan that bargains over compensation, benefits, and working conditions. It is a direct campus-based peer to COGS.

Others

• United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE): UE is COGS's parent union and has provided organizing, legal, training, and field support since 1996. It is not a competitor, but its democratic labor model and higher-education locals make it the closest organizational ecosystem peer.

Broad incumbents

• Service Employees International Union (SEIU): SEIU is a large public-sector and education labor organization with university-worker representation and organizing capacity. COGS previously affiliated with SEIU before joining UE, and both share member dues, collective bargaining, and workplace advocacy.
• National Education Association (NEA): NEA represents education employees, including higher-education members, and negotiates on behalf of public-sector workers. Its education-sector scope is broader than COGS's graduate-worker niche, but its collective-bargaining and member-advocacy model overlaps.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/cogsunion
• Instagraminstagram.com/cogsunion

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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