Posts tagged student workers
Columbia student worker union authorizes strike amid contract talks, Israel boycott demands
March 17, 2026 // Student Workers of Columbia, a union representing roughly 3,500 graduate and undergraduate student workers at Columbia University, has “overwhelmingly” authorized a strike as part of ongoing contract negotiations with the university, including demands for an institutional boycott of Israel.
RHODE ISLAND: BCSC student worker labor union dissolves, citing ‘systemically poor turnout’
November 20, 2025 // Third World Labor Organization leaders wrote that some recent meetings failed to garner attendance from at least 10 members. In early November, organizers told union members that at least 10 members needed to attend the next two union meetings, but this request similarly went unmet, union leaders noted in their email. The lack of attendance “makes this union not member-led and thus not sustainable,” organizers wrote. “The union only runs if we make it run.”
Temple Union of Resident Assistants becomes first undergraduate, public university union in state
October 27, 2025 // The organization, comprised of 126 resident assistants and peer mentors from University Housing and Residential Life, has been pushing for union membership since Fall 2024. RAs and peer mentors began distributing union cards in August 2024. TURA was created to improve working conditions for RAs and peer mentors through fair compensation and consistent worker treatment. In previous years, RAs would receive 1,000 diamond dollars, free housing, an unlimited meal plan and a $200 tuition stipend. Diamond dollars became a defunct campus currency several years ago, and Temple never replaced the compensation. Returning RAs and PMs can only work 15 or 20 hours outside of their UHRL duties, while first years can only work 10 to 15 hours.
Op-ed: Organized Labor Pushes Blue States to Protect Private University Student Workers
September 2, 2025 // Without a quorum at the NLRB, state legislation that codifies collective bargaining for private-sector employees may be key to preserving workers’ rights.
U Rochester Ph.D. Student Workers Strike for an Election Without the NLRB
April 27, 2025 // University of Rochester Ph.D. student workers began striking this week to pressure the institution to agree to what they call a “fair union election.” And for the process to be fair, they say, it can’t be handled by the Trump-era National Labor Relations Board. “We don’t see any kind of path through the NLRB at present,” said George Elkind, a Ph.D. student on the proposed UR Graduate Labor Union’s organizing committee.
Stanford grad students postpone strike timed to hobble grading and advising ahead of finals
November 13, 2024 // “A strike will cause massive disruption to the university’s teaching and research missions,” the Stanford Graduate Workers Union said in a statement, noting that many seminars taught by graduate students will be paused indefinitely, as will other essential functions. “Teaching assistants will cancel their review and discussion sessions, office hours and labs. Assignments will not be graded.” The graduate students unionized a year ago but have yet to sign a contract with the university.
Government Unions are Down — But Not Out
September 10, 2024 // For nearly a decade, the Commonwealth Foundation has tracked state-by-state changes in labor laws. Every two years, the Commonwealth Foundation releases its research on the ever-changing legal landscape for public sector unions, assessing each state’s efforts to promote public employees’ rights or cave to unions’ entrenched influence. This fourth edition examines government unions’ attempts, following Janus, to hold onto and expand special legal privileges under state laws. The research also highlights the states reining in government unions’ power and influence by empowering workers.
NU graduate union sounding alarm on funding cuts for advanced student workers
August 5, 2024 // Kennedy said some advanced student workers are now left vulnerable because of the “really late” notification. In particular, she said advanced international students could face visa expiration and be forced to leave the country without funding, as they are required to demonstrate they can pay for all expenses in order to extend their visas past the standard five years. She said some are facing expirations within the next three weeks. One such advanced international student, who asked to remain anonymous because of their uncertain visa status, told the RoundTable that they were assured they’d receive Advanced Student Quarters funds for their next year of work but was asked to justify their funding request in mid-May, something that hadn’t been asked in years prior.
University of WA reaches agreement with union representing student employees
May 16, 2024 // The University of Washington said on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with UAW Local 4121. In a quest for improved wages, 6,000 student workers at the University of Washington (UW) have launched a strike, suspending their duties and assembling on picket lines scattered across campus.
Opinion: Is The American Labor Movement Ready For Gen Z?
February 12, 2024 // It’s fair to ask what any of this has to do with unions’ supposed goal of bargaining for better wages and conditions for workers. The data is regrettably clear: with this trend towards increased activism, representation for actual union members has suffered. Some of the nation’s largest labor unions routinely spend as much or more on political activities than they do on representing their existing members. For example, in 2022 the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), representing over 1.8 million workers, spent $63.5 million on political activities and lobbying, which is more than double what it spent representing its membership. The American Federation of Teachers spent $46.9 million supporting Left-wing politics in 2023, while the National Education Association spent less on member representation than it did on political causes. Organized labor is already diverting too much time and money away from the well-being of workers and toward unrelated political agendas. As more members of Gen Z join unions and gain leadership positions, we can only expect this trend to increase.