On Tuesday, the National Labor Relations Board overturned its 2000 decision that allowed graduate students at private universities to unionize -- a move which may affect the Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania.
In 2000, under the Clinton administration, the NLRB ruled in favor of recognizing a graduate student union at New York University -- a decision which has since prompted graduate students at other private universities to seek union recognition as well. In a 3-2 decision on Tuesday, the NLRB ruled against a group of Brown University graduate students who were seeking representation by the United Auto Workers.
This ruling may affect Penn's GET-UP since, according to the group's Web site, it was formed in 2001 in order "to improve graduate student employee life through unionization."
In February 2003, Penn's graduate students voted on whether or not to unionize with GET-UP. However, the University has not yet counted these votes -- a point which spurred many GET-UP members to participate in a two-day strike this past February.
University Spokeswoman Lori Doyle said that she is "pleased" by the NLRB's ruling, adding that the Board "recognized what we've been saying all along -- that graduate students are students, not employees, and that teaching is an essential component of their educational experience."
Doyle said that University administration is "looking forward to working together with the leaders of the various graduate student groups to continuously improve the graduate experience at Penn."
"We believe this ruling will be good for higher education in general, not just for Penn," she added.
However, GET-UP Co-Chairwoman Sayumi Takahashi said that the NLRB's ruling will not put an end to GET-UP's unionization efforts, adding that the group will still seek union recognition from the University itself.
"We're still going ahead with our plans and our organizing," she said, adding that the NLRB's ruling "doesn't mean that the University couldn't choose to recognize a union and negotiate."
