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The National Labor Relations Board ruling involved a case at Columbia University in New York. (Photo: InSapphoWeTrust/flickr/cc)
In Major Ruling, Grad Students Win Right to Unionize at Private Universities
Decision described as 'a huge milestone for graduate workers across the country!'
Aug 23, 2016
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said Tuesday that graduate students who work as teaching and research assistants at private colleges are employees--a ruling with "big implications" for both higher education and organized labor in the United States.
Inside Higher Ed explains:
The NLRB said that a previous ruling by the board--that these workers were not entitled to collective bargaining because they are students--was flawed. The NLRB ruling, 3 to 1, came in a case involving a bid by the United Auto Workers to organize graduate students at Columbia University. The decision reverses a 2004 decision--which has been the governing one until today--about a similar union drive at Brown University.
Paul R. Katz, one of the Columbia graduate students involved in the organizing efforts, told the New York Times: "We are elated that the NLRB has overturned Brown and restored our collective bargaining rights."
\u201cThis is a huge milestone for graduate workers across the country!\u201d— Student Workers of Columbia (@Student Workers of Columbia) 1471969417
Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and "the entire Ivy League" had jointly submitted a brief, the Washington Post reports, "arguing that involving students in the bargaining process would disrupt operations, if they want to negotiate the length of a class, amount or grading or what's included in curriculum. Bringing more people to the table, they said, could lead to lengthy and expensive bargaining to the detriment of all students."
But the NLRB, in its ruling (pdf), sided with the students, in a decision that "could potentially deliver tens of thousands of members to the nation's struggling labor movement," according to the Wall Street Journal.
However, Bloomberg's Josh Eidelson noted on Twitter:
\u201cToday's legal ruling from NLRB doesn't stop private schools from running aggressive union-busting campaigns to prevent collective bargaining\u201d— Josh Eidelson (@Josh Eidelson) 1471971310
Still, he said:
\u201cBut today's ruling means that like (most) other private employees, grad students have right on paper to force boss to bargain via election\u201d— Josh Eidelson (@Josh Eidelson) 1471971576
\u201cAnd being considered employees under NLRA means grad students have protection (again, at least on paper) from being punished for organizing\u201d— Josh Eidelson (@Josh Eidelson) 1471971426
Politico reports:
Columbia may still appeal the board's decision in federal court. In a statement, the university said it is reviewing the ruling and disagrees with the decision "because we believe the academic relationship students have with faculty members and departments as part of their studies is not the same as between employer and employee."
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Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said Tuesday that graduate students who work as teaching and research assistants at private colleges are employees--a ruling with "big implications" for both higher education and organized labor in the United States.
Inside Higher Ed explains:
The NLRB said that a previous ruling by the board--that these workers were not entitled to collective bargaining because they are students--was flawed. The NLRB ruling, 3 to 1, came in a case involving a bid by the United Auto Workers to organize graduate students at Columbia University. The decision reverses a 2004 decision--which has been the governing one until today--about a similar union drive at Brown University.
Paul R. Katz, one of the Columbia graduate students involved in the organizing efforts, told the New York Times: "We are elated that the NLRB has overturned Brown and restored our collective bargaining rights."
\u201cThis is a huge milestone for graduate workers across the country!\u201d— Student Workers of Columbia (@Student Workers of Columbia) 1471969417
Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and "the entire Ivy League" had jointly submitted a brief, the Washington Post reports, "arguing that involving students in the bargaining process would disrupt operations, if they want to negotiate the length of a class, amount or grading or what's included in curriculum. Bringing more people to the table, they said, could lead to lengthy and expensive bargaining to the detriment of all students."
But the NLRB, in its ruling (pdf), sided with the students, in a decision that "could potentially deliver tens of thousands of members to the nation's struggling labor movement," according to the Wall Street Journal.
However, Bloomberg's Josh Eidelson noted on Twitter:
\u201cToday's legal ruling from NLRB doesn't stop private schools from running aggressive union-busting campaigns to prevent collective bargaining\u201d— Josh Eidelson (@Josh Eidelson) 1471971310
Still, he said:
\u201cBut today's ruling means that like (most) other private employees, grad students have right on paper to force boss to bargain via election\u201d— Josh Eidelson (@Josh Eidelson) 1471971576
\u201cAnd being considered employees under NLRA means grad students have protection (again, at least on paper) from being punished for organizing\u201d— Josh Eidelson (@Josh Eidelson) 1471971426
Politico reports:
Columbia may still appeal the board's decision in federal court. In a statement, the university said it is reviewing the ruling and disagrees with the decision "because we believe the academic relationship students have with faculty members and departments as part of their studies is not the same as between employer and employee."
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said Tuesday that graduate students who work as teaching and research assistants at private colleges are employees--a ruling with "big implications" for both higher education and organized labor in the United States.
Inside Higher Ed explains:
The NLRB said that a previous ruling by the board--that these workers were not entitled to collective bargaining because they are students--was flawed. The NLRB ruling, 3 to 1, came in a case involving a bid by the United Auto Workers to organize graduate students at Columbia University. The decision reverses a 2004 decision--which has been the governing one until today--about a similar union drive at Brown University.
Paul R. Katz, one of the Columbia graduate students involved in the organizing efforts, told the New York Times: "We are elated that the NLRB has overturned Brown and restored our collective bargaining rights."
\u201cThis is a huge milestone for graduate workers across the country!\u201d— Student Workers of Columbia (@Student Workers of Columbia) 1471969417
Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and "the entire Ivy League" had jointly submitted a brief, the Washington Post reports, "arguing that involving students in the bargaining process would disrupt operations, if they want to negotiate the length of a class, amount or grading or what's included in curriculum. Bringing more people to the table, they said, could lead to lengthy and expensive bargaining to the detriment of all students."
But the NLRB, in its ruling (pdf), sided with the students, in a decision that "could potentially deliver tens of thousands of members to the nation's struggling labor movement," according to the Wall Street Journal.
However, Bloomberg's Josh Eidelson noted on Twitter:
\u201cToday's legal ruling from NLRB doesn't stop private schools from running aggressive union-busting campaigns to prevent collective bargaining\u201d— Josh Eidelson (@Josh Eidelson) 1471971310
Still, he said:
\u201cBut today's ruling means that like (most) other private employees, grad students have right on paper to force boss to bargain via election\u201d— Josh Eidelson (@Josh Eidelson) 1471971576
\u201cAnd being considered employees under NLRA means grad students have protection (again, at least on paper) from being punished for organizing\u201d— Josh Eidelson (@Josh Eidelson) 1471971426
Politico reports:
Columbia may still appeal the board's decision in federal court. In a statement, the university said it is reviewing the ruling and disagrees with the decision "because we believe the academic relationship students have with faculty members and departments as part of their studies is not the same as between employer and employee."
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