Some Penn grad students favor NYU decision

With the conclusion of contract negotiations between New York University and the representative union of the school's graduate students -- the United Auto Workers -- graduate students at other universities, including Penn, are pushing even harder in their own unionization efforts.

After being given the right to unionize by the National Labor Relations Board last year, NYU students set the precedent for other graduate groups looking to unionize. The NYU decision marked the first contract settlement between a private university and a union of graduate students.

Reached on Jan. 28, the agreement was met with a sigh of relief on both sides after months of bargaining.

The settlement encompasses a four-year deal detailing minimum stipend payments of $15,000 with subsequent annual increases and full university health insurance coverage.

Tina Collins, chairwoman of Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania -- the group currently seeking rights of Penn graduate students to unionize -- said the organization was very pleased with the NYU agreement.

"We're thrilled about NYU," Collins said. "We also think that it sets a great precedent for having the process happen relatively quickly, and without the need for anyone to stop working at any point. I hope our administration is reassured by that as well, and that it encourages them to work with us here at Penn."

Andrew Ross, an American Studies professor at NYU and an active supporter of the unionization efforts since the very beginning, praised the settlement and the support given by the public and by other faculty members.

The graduate students and their union "ended up with a terrific contract that will be an inspiration to students at other private universities," Ross said in an e-mail statement.

However, certain differences do exist between the unionization processes at NYU and Penn.

"The NYU agreement actually underscores our point that there is no need for a union here," Deputy Provost Peter Conn said in an e-mail statement. "NYU's stipends were behind and the university did not offer health insurance.

"At Penn, stipends have increased by comparable percentages over the last four years for many of our graduate students -- and that happened without a union and without our students having to pay dues or have a third party intervene," he added.

Currently, Penn's minimum stipend levels are set at $12,500, while doctoral students in the School of Arts and Sciences will see minimum stipends rise to $14,000 over a span of about two years.

Collins said she sees a connection between the rise in stipend levels and unionization efforts at Penn and other universities.

"I personally don't think it's a coincidence that stipends have increased as unionization efforts at other universities have proceeded," Collins said. "One of the important things [in the NYU agreement] is the gradual increases [in stipends] in the future."

GET-UP has been taking a survey of its members and other graduate students to determine what should be included in a graduate student's contract and what needs improvement specifically at Penn.

Christopher Leahy, chairman of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly and a third-year law student, articulated that the conditions at NYU and Penn differ.

"Conditions appear to have been far worse [at NYU] than they are at Penn, making their case for unionization stronger, and frankly, Penn's case for unionization far weaker," Leahy said in an e-mail statement.

"The Penn administration has, frankly, gone out of its way to respond to graduate student concerns voiced by GAPSA and the Graduate Student Activities Council, and continues to do so today," Conn said.

Hearings over the right of graduate students to unionize, conducted at the NLRB offices in downtown Philadelphia, will continue this week.

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