OT: NLRB rules grad students at private Us can unionize

[upstater]

NLRB Rules Graduate Students Are Employees With The Right To Unionize

A couple years ago, we discussed the Northwestern football players lawsuit on this board, and when the NLRB ruled in their favor, it made them a separate class different than the Brown U. grad students who were prevented from unionizing. The reasoning was specious, I argued, because the NLRB guy fundamentally did not understand what grad students do.

Here we are 2 years later and not only was the Northwestern decision overturned (because it would put private schools at a competitive disadvantage) but now the Brown U. ruling has been overturned, and now the reality is diametrically opposite the original 2014 Northwestern ruling. Grad students can unionize, athletes cannot.

 

[noeynox]

 

[AZHuskiePop]

NLRB Rules Graduate Students Are Employees With The Right To Unionize

A couple years ago, we discussed the Northwestern football players lawsuit on this board, and when the NLRB ruled in their favor, it made them a separate class different than the Brown U. grad students who were prevented from unionizing. The reasoning was specious, I argued, because the NLRB guy fundamentally did not understand what grad students do.

Here we are 2 years later and not only was the Northwestern decision overturned (because it would put private schools at a competitive disadvantage) but now the Brown U. ruling has been overturned, and now the reality is diametrically opposite the original 2014 Northwestern ruling. Grad students can unionize, athletes cannot.

I wouldn't expect less than absolute clarity from our legal system

 

[prankster]

Many grad students are paid to support research and to teach classes. In that respect, they are, indeed "employed" by the institution.

Athletes voluntarily participate in sports, knowing that all their extracurricular activities are uncompensated. Thus they are not "employed", by virtue of the fact that they are not compensated.

If they were compensated, then they could unionize, and thus use collective bargaining to negotiate compensation....

 

[J187Money]

I thought grad school only existed for an athlete to transfer after graduating from another school without sitting out.

 

[temery]

Most grad students are at a school for a couple years. They will pretty much always be negotiating a contract to benefit grad students who have not even applied to the school.

The negotiations would rarely benefit those doing the negotiating.

It would be an interesting study. I've been involved in many union negotiations, and found most in the room are willing to take more for themselves, and pay for it by reducing compensation and benefits for the newly hired, or not yet hired workers.

This'll be fun to watch.

 

[temery]

I thought grad school only existed for an athlete to transfer after graduating from another school without sitting out.

No. It also exists for those who recently graduated, and don't want to actually get a job.

 

[upstater]

Most grad students are at a school for a couple years. They will pretty much always be negotiating a contract to benefit grad students who have not even applied to the school.

The negotiations would rarely benefit those doing the negotiating.

It would be an interesting study. I've been involved in many union negotiations, and found most in the room are willing to take more for themselves, and pay for it by reducing compensation and benefits for the newly hired, or not yet hired workers.

This'll be fun to watch.

The majority of grad students who get some stipend/pay from universities are PhD students. They are typically there much longer. There are private and public grad student unions already, at maybe half of universities nationwide. Yale has one. This new ruling seems to prevent private schools from opposing their formation. I imagine any new union will largely negotiate benefits that are similar to the contracts already negotiated by existing unions.