University Grievance Policy for Graduate Students. When negotiating a labor contract, the University and union may agree to include a union security clause in the collective bargaining agreement. Federal law does not mandate how a union or an employer determine their respective agendas for bargaining. The University likely will be represented at the bargaining table by labor relations professionals and knowledgeable administrators. It is true that many graduate students unions have, at other universities, improved graduate student stipends. UChicago Grad Students Fought for a Union for 15 Years. Now - Truthout Universities take, but rarely give. While that might not seem like much, it is approximately equal to what is offered to students at peer institutions Stanford and Harvard, and the cost of living in New Haven is far less than it is in the Bay Area or Boston. This is not a lot, but on our salary it did mean something. We create a welcoming, fun, and relaxing social heart of our campus. There is no question in my mind that while graduate student unions may provide a short term benefit to graduate students, those students who wish to continue on in academia are effectively shooting themselves in the foot. The answer to the former question has little to do with the soundness of the decision. Vanderbilt believes that graduate students are best served by remaining union-free for several reasons. According to the National Labor Relations Board, grants you the right to organize for better working conditions. Under the law, the University is required to recognize the union as the exclusive bargaining representative of graduate students who are in the certified unit described below (see Who is included in the bargaining unit? question below). UAW 2865 | UAW Local 2865 - 19,000 Student workers strong To cover the cost the PI slice of the overhead pie was reduced. On Nov. 3, the Columbia University student worker's union announced that they were going . Catholic Daily Mass - Daily TV Mass - July 19, 2023 - Facebook UE has strong experience organizing grad workers. I was a postdoc at an institution with unionized graduate students. How much teaching or TAing is required during PhD training? Mass, active participation in our union efforts is the key to us winning a strong contract. Is it possible for a student in first year of Ph.D to secure funding for attending conferences? I'm curious if you have any specific cases in mind where non-union schools have increased compensation/benefits/etc. For non-labor law experts, however, the important detail to keep in mind is that. Another potential disadvantage is that union dues went (in part) to political contributions to union-friendly politicians. By Derek Seidman , T ruthout January 20, 2023 UChicago student union supporters are pictured holding signs. In 1945, UE demanded and won equal pay for women. It is not unheard of for administrations to threaten international students with visa repercussions, since these students are often more vulnerable than American citizens and hence easier to intimidate. This election is one step on a longer path to unionization that has already completed several steps: NUGW-UE collected over 2000 cards to authorize an election. A good thing in unions is that you get to interact with others, specially your seniors, who can guide you in your academic life because they are one step ahead of you. Consequentially, the only grad student orgs . We believe that "Joining a student union and participating in it" will be at odds with the strong academic partnership that is formed between students and mentors and that represents a central element of the graduate student educational experience. Representatives of both the University and the union will sit at the bargaining table. Line integral on implicit region that can't easily be transformed to parametric region. The University is committed to bargaining in good faith with the union over bargaining unit members terms and conditions of employment. In addition, the limited access to funding beyond the fifth year poses a unique challenge to international students who are in many cases unable to take on supplementary work off campus. . Only if the University and the union specifically bargain for such flexibility and include it in the contract, or if the union consents to the change on an ad hoc basis. Also, I heard complaints about union dues going to liberal politicians, this is also not true, and is against the law. Such a change is likely to fundamentally alter our current students academic experiences, as well as their careers and the careers of those to follow. This would seem to reduce the leverage of grad students at non-union schools and reduce the incentive of the school to match the unionized school's benefits. Mostly, I remember the beer. This is sometimes referred to as Weingarten Rights and it applies to investigatory interviews conducted by the University in relation to possible employment misconduct, i.e., misconduct that arises out of the employment relationship and in the course of performing employment-related responsibilities. The union speaks for all graduate students in the bargaining unit, and the provisions in a contract apply to all members, unless exceptions and differences are provided for in the contract. NUGW-UE is engaged in an active recognition campaign, with an election expected soon. That being said, I live in the german-speaking area, and around here some unions have gone horribly wrong lately. Paycheck deductions in installments for parking permits for graduate assistants. In fact, the Boards decision inColumbia Universityreserved the Bush Boards 2004 ruling inBrown University,which itself overturned the Clinton Boards 2000 opinion inNew York University. Ultimately, they delegitimize essential unionization drives elsewhere. A decertification petition cannot be filed with the NLRB during the one-year period that follows the initial certification of the union, and if the University and the union reach agreement on a labor contract, the contract would bar the filing of a decertification petition until a 30-day window near the end of the contract term. When I was a graduate student, getting the chance to lecture was an opportunity---at some schools it's one of the few chances to get that experience while still in grad school. I'm planning to apply for my Ph.D. and I've been browsing certain University websites and looking through their curriculums and stuff. There is a grad student unionization effort at my school (USA) and it will come to a vote soon. FAQs about Graduate Student Unionization. to match unionized schools. How will individual graduate students be able to ensure that their concerns are addressed in the collective bargaining agreement? As workers at a private university, our legal right to unionize is determined by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The minimum (base) annual stipend rate for PhD students is $35,196, but some programs set a higher amount that is paid by that school. Once again, its not possible to know for sure. Those increased benefits come directly from departmental budgets. In 1945, UE demanded and won equal pay for women. Numerous studies showthat unions actually improve the relationship between graduate workers and faculty (e.g. Together, we can win a strong first contract and improve life for graduate student-workers! :-). A union allows employees to pool their labor as a single resource and use it to gain negotiating power, which in turn allows the employees to win additional pay, protection, and benefits for their labor. The Management and Academic rights of the University include, but are not limited to, the right to: Establish, plan, direct and control the Universitys organizational structure, missions, programs, objectives, services, activities, resources and priorities; Establish and administer procedures, rules and regulations, and direct and control University operations, including the subcontracting of all or any portion of any operations; Alter, extend or discontinue existing equipment, facilities, and location of operations; Recruit, hire, appoint, assign, schedule, transfer, train, supervise, or evaluate Student Employees; Determine or modify the number, qualifications, scheduling, responsibilities and assignments of Student Employees; Establish, maintain, modify or enforce standards of education, performance, conduct, order and safety, and to establish and revise disciplinary policies to address violations of these standards; Evaluate, determine the content of evaluations, and determine the processes and criteria by which Student Employees performance is evaluated; Establish and require Student Employees to observe University rules and regulations; Establish or modify the academic calendars, including holidays and holiday scheduling; Determine who is taught, what is taught, how such content is taught and who delivers the instruction; Determine in its sole discretion all matters relating to faculty hiring and tenure, admissions and appointments, admission standards, student matriculation, graduation standards, assessment of student work and grades, and determinations as to students academic progress; Establish tuition, fees, and charges of general application; Determine matters involving financial aid, including, but not limited to, recipients of financial aid and the terms of financial aid; Decide matters related to research methodology and materials; Decide matters related to grants including, but not limited to, application, selection, funding, administration, usage, accountability and termination; Decide whether to create, eliminate, combine, or modify academic, outreach, service and research programs; Decide matters related to housing for Student Employees covered by this Agreement; Exercise sole authority on all decisions involving academic matters, and academic standards. I did my PhD at an institution without one. While the Trump administration might hope to overturnColumbia Universityby 2018, 2019 or even 2020 are more realistic targets. UE was formed in the 1930s by independent local unions committed to uniting workers regardless of craft, age, sex, nationality, race, creed, or political beliefs. UE has a long history of fighting for civil rights, and in 1950 dedicated itself to ending racial discrimination in the electrical manufacturing industry. Is there an equivalent of the Harvard sentences for Japanese? Paying dues does not grant any special privileges or responsibilities within the union, but does actively support ongoing organizing. Unsurprisingly, this means that the dominant views of the Board oscillate every few years, accounting for one of the two major causes of rapid shifts in Board law. Such activity is illegalhowever, the NLRB is only empowered to impose remedial, rather than punitive, remedies for violations of the law. NUGW members can choose to pay voluntary dues at rates of $6, $12, or $18 per month to directly support active organizing work and help reach as many graduate workers as possible. Foundational accomplishments include . Not answering because I have no concrete experience to share, but I would have the impression that PhD students are exactly the kind of workforce that unions make sense for: the ones that are deeply dependent on their superiors to the extend that they basically don't have alternatives to negotiate with. The reason unions do help is because unions have painfully found out that what is gained at the bargaining table can be taken away at the state capitals very easily. What if a graduate student in the bargaining unit doesnt want to belong to the union? The union also can require bargaining unit members to pay initiation fees, and the failure to pay dues or fees could result in termination of employment. Stipends and benefits could decrease, increase, or stay the same. Some of these credit unions have geographically limited membership: Patelco CU, 3% on $2000 plus $50 bonus. Harvard Grad Student Union Votes to Affiliate with Undergraduates Are there subjects that must be in a collective bargaining agreement? Contrary to the comments here, the answer is generally that there is no reason not to unionize and a lot of good reasons TO unionize. What if graduate students later decide to reject unionization? If a majority of votes cast in the election choose to certify NUGW-UE, then the union is legally recognized and Northwestern must engage in good-faith bargaining. The graduate aggregate loan limit maxes out at $138,500. In fact, graduate student unionization could spur faculty growth at some schools by increasing the costs of teaching alternatives. Although no one can predict what might be included in a management rights clause, it is helpful to consider the management rights clause that Columbia University negotiated with the United Auto Workers, which represents graduate students at Columbia. How will the union and the Universitys positions at the bargaining table be determined? Premier Members CU, 4% on $2000 plus $50 bonus. Staff and faculty pay part of their health insurance premiums, but PhD students do not pay any part of their individual health insurance premiums. During the last years of the Obama administration, the Boards Democratic majority overruled a number of holdings by Republican-dominated Boards, including the Reagan-era Boards interpretation of what constitutes a joint employer and the Bush Boards refusal to protect employees using theircompany email systemsfor organizing purposes. Yes. . Unions formed with such goals may also be worth fighting for. Scan this QR code to download the app now. There is a real possibility that the benefits of unionization might not merely be long-delayed, but actually denied. What is the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)? In short, Yale students cannot seriously expect to gain much in the way of salary by striking at this time. A great primer on UEs extensive history fighting for equality in the workplace was written by our comrades at MIT, and can be found here. Meriwest CU, 3.5% on $5000. The University also cannot negotiate directly with any student who is in the union on any matter affecting wages, hours, or working conditions except as permitted by a collective bargaining agreement (often called a CBA or labor agreement) between the University and the union. Vanderbilt believes that when our students have all of the facts, they will recognize that they are better off without a union, even if a current federal ruling allows such a choice. It depends on the length of each contract, which itself is an issue for negotiation at the bargaining table. In the Chicago region alone, UIC has a union and UChicago and Loyola have ongoing union campaigns. What rights will the University have under a labor contract? You might look at how it shook out. How to avoid conflict of interest when dating another employee in a matrix management company? In 2017, SEIU similarly tried to organize Duke graduate students and filed a petition for representation (the process of which is discussed more below). Can the University make exceptions to contract provisions to accommodate the individual needs of individual graduate students? Can somebody be charged for having another person physically assault someone for them? Brett Parker, a senior studying political science, is the managing editor of Stanford Politics. Attempts at graduate student unionization will undoubtedly produce expensive failure in some cases, and in all cases if the Trump-era NLRB overturnsColumbia University. Here's a list of such credit unions and the . The University of Michigan went through this recently, with it polarizing grad students along those that do more teaching vs. research. Since the Board is considered to have some policymaking authority, its members are less constrained than judges are in seeking what they believe to be the right outcomes. Indeed, the 22-page majority opinion is itself carefully reasoned and well-supported by empirical data. We encourage all graduate students to learn more about unionization and consider how it will affect them and their programs, now and in the future. FAQs about Graduate Student Unionization | MIT Office of the Vice Traditionally, three of the five NLRB members, including the Chairperson, belong to the presidents party, while the remaining two members belong to the opposition party. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. No one is required to join the Union. The typical PhD student pays no tuition. What are the benefits/detriments to graduate students joining unions? In Summer 2022 the affiliation committee researched a variety of national unions to consider for affiliation, and, after many interviews and presentations, voted unanimously to recommend United Electrical Workers (UE). These are gross generalizations of course. No, unless such exceptions were provided for in the contract or otherwise agreed to by the union, individual student needs that are in conflict with the contract provisions cannot be accommodated. So what gives? depending on your pay grade) when you first join the union. Should I join a graduate school union? : r/AskAcademia - Reddit Unions provide a way, through collective action, for graduate students and researchers to change our own conditions. Collectively, these considerations suggest that there is no universally correct answer to the question of whether graduate students should attempt to unionize in the face of the likely reversal ofColumbia University. If there is no agreement, the union may decide to strike. Updated September 7, 2022. In March 2023, the National Labor Relations Board certified the results of a secret ballot election in which a majority of voters cast ballots in favor of union representation by Graduate Students United United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (GSU-UE). Nevertheless, so long as it exists, private employers will continue to violate the law with astonishing frequency. What is the smallest audience for a communication that has been deemed capable of defamation? For instance, the fact that a given clause is in a graduate student union contract at another university does not mean it will be in the contract at the University of Chicago. When privileged Ivy-Leaguers co-opt the strategy in pursuit of marginal improvements in their working conditions, they exhibit a lack of social awareness and invite mockery from the political right. A union allows employees to pool their labor as a single resource and use it to gain negotiating power, which in turn allows the employees to win additional pay, protection, and benefits for their labor. Armed with this knowledge you can participate more fully and obtain a contract guaranteeing greater compensation both for yourself and graduate workers collectively. Getting a college degree is an expensive prospect these days. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. I went to graduate school in mathematics at a university with a TA union. The union will pick its own bargaining team, which might include graduate students and representatives of the national union. In a 2016 filing from Colombia graduate students the NLRB ruled that graduate student workers employed at private universities are entitled to protections under the National Labor Relations Act, including the right to form a union for the purposes of collective bargaining. After three weeks of more than 2,200 grad student union members joining together to protest unfair compensation, the Graduate Student Organizing Committee secured a historic pay and benefits increase from the university. Stanford graduate student-workers launch unionization effort More like, the university didn't cut the president's salary :). Graduate Labor Organization (GLO) is a grassroots organization of graduate student-workers at Brown University. Will unionization impact working hours for laboratory-based graduate students in the bargaining unit? rev2023.7.24.43543. Before a union can negotiate on behalf of a labor force it must be recognized as representing the laborers. Rather than implementing a top-down organizational structure where strategy, policies and finances are controlled nationally, UE operates as a federation of independent locals that make their own decisions. Yes, graduate workers are legally considered employees. Reddit, Inc. 2023. During this time, the National Labor Relations Act requires the employer and the union to engage in good faith negotiations over terms and conditions of employment, which are often called mandatory subjects of bargaining. This duty to bargain in good faith means the parties must meet, confer, and consider each others proposals. GLO was brought into being by the efforts of activists grads involved with Stand Up for Graduate Students Employees (SUGSE), which was established in 2014 to advocate for graduate student-workers. With the right choices, you can avoid being one of them. Do some PhD programs have higher annual stipends? We have the chance to win a legally recognized union at Northwestern through an NLRB-facilitated election on January 10th and 11th. Yes, unions normally collect mandatory dues from its members, typically requiring students to agree to an automatic payroll deduction. What is the significance of GSU-UEs status as the exclusive bargaining agent for the group of graduate students who provide instructional and research services? To grad students who aren't unionized, do you want to and why? Ironically, the graduate students at Columbia are probably less in need of a union than students at less well-known universities. The graduate students at my university (a relatively large state school in the US) are considering joining a union. Over the past year, American political discourse has been dominated by topics of universal salience: a presidential election, the transition between chief executives, and a Supreme Court appointment. Comparisons of unionized and non-unionized schools suggest that unionization offers greater support and more transparent grievance handling for the workers. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Do PhD students have dental and vision insurance? Will unionization result in improvements to graduate student stipends and benefits? In these FAQs, and in other communications from the university, we emphasize these points with the common message of education first.. After a contract is ratified the protections and guarantees earned by the workers will remain in place for the duration of the contract. At the same time the University got a site license for Matlab. Collective bargaining normally happens in a series of meetings at which representatives of the union and the employer exchange written proposals for a collective bargaining agreement (also called a union contract or a labor agreement). For this reason, the contents of labor contracts vary greatly within and across employers, and the inclusion or exclusion of a provision in one contract does not mean that it will be in any other contract, even among contracts entered into by a single employer with different labor unions. Do PhD students have health insurance? It is a bit of a "wall of text" now. Importantly, UE has shown that they are committed to hard fights by supporting grad workers in states in which state employees do not have the right to call for a union election because of anti-labor legislation like Indiana Grad Workers Coalition. During this process the union is represented by a bargaining unit that negotiates terms with the employers representatives, and, after sufficient deliberation, an agreed upon draft will be sent to the rank-and-file union members for a ratification vote. Of course those in favor of unionizing have a list of pros, but I'm always skeptical that the grass will be greener on the other side. In what circumstances do students in the bargaining unit have the right to be accompanied by a union representative? About quality of research in Pure mathematics in Chinese universities and conditions for Foreign students to thrive there. https://brownsugse.com/ Unions can often result in "across-the-board" rules that are well-intentioned, but bad for some departments. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. NUGW-UE is currently engaged in a recognition campaign, with an upcoming election. Its members are appointed by the president to staggered 5-year terms, with the term of one member expiring each year. On the other hand I have heard stories (in other fields) of professors abusing this and passing a large part of their teaching load off to their grad students. Nobody forces union members to come to union meetings. Are graduate workers legally considered employees? Do other universities have graduate employee unions? This impotence is a significant flaw within the NRLA, and one that Congress should have corrected years ago. The bargaining unit as proposed by GSU-UE and certified by the NLRB is: All graduate students enrolled in University of Chicago degree programs who are employed to provide instructional or research services, including but not limited to Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, Course/Teaching Assistants, Graduate Student Instructors, Graduate Student Lecturers, Instructional Graders, Language Assistants, Preceptors, Research Interns, Teaching Consultants, CCTL Teaching Fellows, Teaching Interns, Teaching Lab Assistants, Tutors, Writing Interns, and Writing Lectors, in the Divinity School, the Crown Family School of Social Work Policy and Practice, Division of the Social Sciences, Division of the Humanities, Division of the Biological Sciences, Division of the Physical Sciences, Booth School of Business, Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy, and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.
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