Posts tagged graduate students
Graduate fellows seek to unionize in unprecedented move
March 31, 2026 // The move appears to be the first of its kind at a private U.S. institution of higher education, something union organizers argue is made possible by a novel Rhode Island law passed in August that explicitly codifies the right of graduate student employees — including fellows not working as teaching or research assistants — to unionize. Graduate fellows are students who receive stipend funding unrelated to whether or not they officially work as research or teaching assistants. The University’s current contract with GLO includes only graduate student employees recognized by the National Labor Relations Board, many of whom are teaching or research assistants
A Columbia Student Strike May Foreshadow the End of Unions
March 28, 2026 // Columbia graduate students this month voted to authorize a strike, their second in five years. Their list of demands naturally include things related to pay and working conditions. They are seeking $76,000 a year in pay, about twice the stipend I got as a graduate student (adjusting for inflation) and a more than 50% increase from the current level.
NIH Withdraws Recognition from Union Representing Grad Students and Postdocs
March 19, 2026 // The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has withdrawn recognition from the union representing its postdoctoral and graduate student fellows. In the email announcing the decision, the NIH stated it withdrew recognition because the fellows are not “employees.” Unionization at federal agencies like the NIH is regulated by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), rather than the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) which oversees labor relations in the private sector.
UC-wide strike averted after tentative agreement with UAW
March 16, 2026 // A UC systemwide strike will likely be averted after UAW and the University of California reached a tentative agreement Friday after seven months of negotiations. UAW 4811, the union that represents 48,000 student employees, postdocs and academic researchers across the UC system, announced the tentative agreement in an email Friday night.
Labor Watch: St. John’s Axes Unions, CSU Strike Pays Off
March 5, 2026 // St. John’s is the second institution to use a religious exemption to shutter its union this academic year; in the fall, the Loyola Marymount University Board of Trustees announced it would no longer recognize its non-tenure-track faculty union and cease bargaining.
Opinion: Workers say ‘I like unions, I just don’t like my union’ — here’s what they’re discovering
February 28, 2026 // "I like unions. I just don’t like my union." Time and time again, I hear this sentiment from employees nationwide. Most will express frustration with their union officials, who’ve disappointed or even mistreated them and other members. Some tell me how they tried and failed to improve their own union from within. They imagine there’s a better union out there — one where union officials actively improve the workplace and help employees achieve some measure of personal freedom.
SWC-UAW opens strike authorization vote to ‘ramp up’ pressure during bargaining over a new contract with Columbia
February 26, 2026 // Under the last contract, doctoral candidate workers were guaranteed a $43,137 salary. The union has asked for a $76,372 minimum salary in the ongoing negotiations. A student worker strike may disrupt classes, grading, and research operations. The last SWC strike in 2021 disrupted Core Curriculum classes, with instructors canceling midterm exams and removing material from the curriculum. However, the University cut Core class teaching obligations for graduate student workers last year amid negotiations over the new contract. A University official told Spectator that the change gives graduate students more time to complete research and academic requirements.
Cornell Ph.D. Student’s Appeal to NLRB’s Top Prosecutor Urges Agency to End Union Control Over Graduate Students
February 23, 2026 // Russell Burgett, a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, is asking newly-seated National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Crystal Carey to issue a complaint and ask the NLRB to free graduate students across the country from being forced to fund and associate with union bosses.
Cornell Ph.D. Student’s Appeal to NLRB’s Top Prosecutor Urges Agency to End Union Control Over Graduate Students
February 18, 2026 // Case attacks Obama-era federal ruling that exposed graduate students to union boss power and forced dues
Should RAs be included in the Penn State graduate student union? University files appeal
January 27, 2026 // The Coalition of Graduate Employees at Penn State worked for years for the roughly 5,000 graduate students to vote in a union election. Graduate students previously tried to unionize in 2017-18 but were unsuccessful. Other unionization efforts have also been in the works at Penn State, including for faculty. In December the Penn State Faculty Alliance filed a petition to hold a union election for Penn State faculty. Teamsters Local 8, a labor union representing technical service workers at every Penn State campus, is also seeking to significantly expand its membership by organizing some university workers who currently fall outside of its scope.