It looks like the end of the line for the only recognized graduate student union at a private university.
Last week, New York University administrators decided not to renew their graduate student union's contract after it expires in August.
The NYU union, organized as United Auto Workers Local 2110, has served as a model for Penn's Graduate Employees Together -- University of Pennsylvania since the Penn group's founding in 2001.
GET-UP has consistently pushed for benefits such as health care coverage for graduate students, though it is not recognized as a union by either the University or the regional National Labor Relations Board.
Tina Collins, political director of GET-UP, commented that the decision not to renew the contract with NYU's graduate student union was not surprising, given that the university's decision to recognize the group itself was almost a year old. She also said that the administration at NYU was constantly trying to pull out of its contract.
"It affects [GET-UP] in that it is another example to our members of how other universities and the Penn administration go against unionization, even at NYU where it is a pretty straightforward process and there haven't been major conflicts over the terms of their contract," Collins said.
NYU administrators did not return calls for comment.
The first and only of its kind in the country, NYU's graduate student union has received considerable support from organized labor advocates during its contract-renewal struggle. Representatives of UAW 2110 called upon area politicians to speak at the rally supporting the graduate student union. Even the Rev. Jesse Jackson provided input at an event in April.
As for the unionization effort at Penn, Collins said that despite past setbacks, GET-UP is "still very active here even in the summer, and we're talking to people on campus [and] getting in touch with incoming students."
Collins said one of GET-UP's top priorities for this summer is health-care benefits. Members are researching benefits offered to employees of the University and working on petitions to gain comparable coverage.
One of the main arguments against NYU's graduate student union was that it did not have much impact on the bargaining between graduate students and the administration.
"This is an argument that NYU [union organizers] heard even before they organized, that we heard even before the five years of organizing," Collins said.
She added that universities believe graduate students do not need official representation to address the issues at hand.
"Our response is that unions have a history of working with administrations. When you determine that legally it's not necessary, it calls into question the democratic process," Collins said.
The Education Resources Information Center Clearinghouse on Higher Education -- a Washington publication -- reported in 2000 that graduate students are not considered employees, as they "work as part of their training or financial aid packages, and this experience supplements their education."
This is the position that the University has taken in its dealings with GET-UP.
The article continues, "University administrators fear that graduate student unions will negatively affect graduate-student and university relations, cause strikes and interruptions in education and reduce the role that students outside the union have in the formation and delivery of education."
Despite any opposition, Collins added that GET-UP will fully support efforts at NYU and elsewhere to keep these organizations operational. She also said that measures will be decided this coming weekend as a coalition of graduate employee unions in Canada.
