The University filed an appeal yesterday with the regional National Labor Relations Board asking for a reconsideration of the NLRB's decision to allow graduate students to unionize at Penn.
"As we stated when the decision was handed down, we intended to appeal, which we have now done for reasons which we have already set forth," University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman said.
The decision was announced two weeks ago by NLRB Regional Director Dorothy Moore-Duncan, marking only the fifth time graduate students at a private university have been given the right to unionize.
Graduate student unions are more common at public universities -- in fact, The Daily Illini reported yesterday that the University of Illinois' Graduate Employees Organization won their unionization election Wednesday night in a landslide vote.
Penn's filing came without the fanfare that accompanied the original decision by the NLRB two weeks ago. University President Judith Rodin immediately responded to the NLRB's decision by sending a mass e-mail to all faculty and some students criticizing the "arbitrary" divisions of graduate students in the decision.
Rodin also asserted that the administration strongly hopes that students will realize "the decision makes no sense for graduate students at Penn," according to the e-mail.
Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania -- the unit of graduate students who aim to organize a union to represent their peers in contract negotiations -- expected the filing of an appeal, as Rodin directly acknowledged the University's plan to appeal the NLRB's decision in the e-mail.
"We're not surprised," GET-UP spokesman David Faris said. "Unfortunately, we expected it."
Faris accused the University of purposely keeping the appeal quiet for public relations purposes.
"They know the entire community is against the appeal," Faris said, speculating the University was attempting to "slip it under the radar."
"It's sad and frustrating that the administration decided to appeal the decision," he added. "I think that they are alienating the entire community. We still wish they would stop the legal challenges and just let us have our vote."
An information officer at the local NLRB office, who wished to remain anonymous, noted that the NLRB does not in fact have to hold union elections at Penn while waiting on the ruling of the appeal.
The regional NLRB could decide to direct elections regardless of the appeal and have the ballots impounded or wait on holding the elections until after the appeal is decided.
According to the information officer, the elections will most likely take place before the appeal ruling, solely due to the extensive amount of time the national office of the NLRB will take in deciding the issue.
"I can't swear... that the decision hasn't already been made," he said, noting that the precedent of other cases at Brown and Columbia universities, who are also waiting on appeals, will most likely ensure that elections will be held at Penn early next year before any decision about the appeal is made.
The NLRB members looking at Penn's appeal will change on Dec. 17 when President George W. Bush's nominees take over, making the process even longer.
"If it sounds murky, it is," the officer said, citing "political undertones" in the decision-making process and other more time-sensitive cases that must be looked at before Penn's appeal.
The NLRB has not yet decided when its review of the appeal will begin.
