Graduate Student Unionization Efforts, List, and Statistics

According to data collected and maintained by the WashU Undergraduate and Graduate Workers Union, there were roughly 124,500 student workers represented in higher education unions in July 2021.^{Note Reference [1]} Including staff, faculty, and postdoctorates, unions represented almost 1 million (932,000) workers in higher education.

In this report, discover the history of graduate student unionizations and notable strikes. Learn about existing unions and undergraduate union statistics.

Graduate student employees at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, successfully formed the first voluntarily recognized union for student employees in 1969.^[4] The union negotiated a contract in 1970.

These students weren’t the first to try to unionize.

University of California, Berkeley, students attempted to unionize around this time. However, that union was never formally recognized, and it eventually disbanded.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled in 1974 that research assistants within the Stanford University physics department did not have the right to unionize.^{Note Reference [4]} The NLRB stated that they were primarily doctoral students, not employees.

Federal precedent remained unchanged for the next two decades, impacting students at private colleges and universities.

Beginning in 2000, the legality of graduate student unions at private institutions largely depended on which president was in power.

The NLRB — composed mostly of President Bill Clinton’s appointees — ruled that New York University graduate assistants had the right to unionize in 2000.^{Note Reference [4]} This led to a flood of unionization efforts at other institutions.

Under President George W. Bush, that precedent was reversed in 2004. Following the change, NYU refused to negotiate a new agreement with graduate students.

In August 2016, President Barack Obama’s NLRB voted that Columbia University undergraduate and graduate teaching assistants count as employees and are covered by the National Labor Relations Act.^{Note Reference [4]} This ruling granted students the right to unionize once again.

And this right remained, even under President Donald Trump.

After the 2016 election, student unions withdrew their NLRB claims so that pending cases wouldn’t overturn the Columbia University case. Essentially, without any cases to review, the NLRB did not have the means to overturn its precedent. The board attempted to overturn the Columbia case through regulatory action in 2019, but President Joe Biden withdrew the proposed rule in 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred a new wave of student activism and unionization.

William Herbert, executive director of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions, told BestColleges that the pandemic highlighted the benefits of a union to many. New organizing efforts at corporations including Amazon and Starbucks have revitalized and shed light on the labor movement in the U.S.

My general sense is that the pandemic has reshaped and caused people to reevaluate their relationship to work and their relationship to employment, Herbert said. One of those shifts has been the realization of the importance of having a union in place.

The first official graduate student union formed at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, was in 1969.

Forming a union is not always a straightforward process. Students at several universities, including schools in the University of California system and New York University, have formed unions only for them to be disbanded then reestablished years later.

Student workers at several universities are currently working to form unions, including at:

Bargaining looks different from school to school. University of Oregon’s Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation (GTFF) Staff Organizer Michael Marchman, gives a glimpse into how the process looks at the University of Oregon.

GTFF members give an overview of their demands and explain the reasoning behind them. They also provide the university with a stack of formal papers that outline the demands in more detail.

These initial meetings typically run around three hours long and anyone can attend, including someone who is not a union member.

In the most recent proposal, of which the negotiations started in March 2023, the GTFF presented roughly 18 article changes to their work contract. For context, there are around 40 articles in total.

One of the proposed changes was an increase in graduate employee (GE) salary. The proposed increase was 30% for the upcoming year, and then another 20% in the second year. Marchman explained that these percentages reflected the actual cost of living in Eugene.

The University of Oregon counterproposed a 4% increase to the lowest level of graduate employee salaries (reserved for graduate employees with the least work hours) and a 0% increase to all other salaries.

The current pre-tax, monthly salary of a University of Oregon graduate employee hovers around $1,800 per month.

Graduate employee salaries vary based on whether the graduate employee is a master’s or Ph.D. student, how far along the Ph.D. student is in their program, and whether they are a teacher’s assistant or a solo instructor. Salaries — commonly referred to as stipends — can also differ by department, school, program length, and other factors.

As negotiations proceed, GTFF members and university administrators meet more often and for longer periods of time — sometimes 12-hour negotiation marathons.

Building a proposal requires surveying members and talking to them about their needs. Determining worker needs necessitates consistent and open communication between workers and union representatives.

It can take several months to finalize a contract between a university and union members. The university can also refuse to bargain or delay giving a counterproposal, prolonging the process even more.

GTFF’s most recent bargaining proposal started in March 2023 and remains ongoing. The group held its previous negotiation in November 2018.

Any section of the contract can be revised during the term of the contract.^[10] Union members typically meet regularly throughout the year even when there are no ongoing negotiations to discuss issues that may arise.

Marchman explained that starting a union is hard work in and of itself, but creating a healthy and functioning union takes even more work.

It requires many people investing many hours into the union and building relationships with colleagues to hear their needs. This explains why many attempts to create unions fail and many other unions disband.

Graduate students, especially those in doctoral programs, work closely with faculty who act as academic advisors. Marchman noted that many graduate students feel afraid that they might upset faculty if they were to voice their concerns.

Marchman explained that overcoming this fear and not feeling powerless are critical to creating a strong union.

Another challenge to unionization efforts are “right-to-work laws.” States that have adopted such laws allow employees to forgo union membership and avoid paying union dues, even in majority-union industries.^[11] This means that joining a union and paying dues cannot be a condition of employment, even though unions represent all workers in a given industry.

These laws hinder unions, which largely depend on membership fees to function. That money can then be used to organize and hire paid staff to help manage operations.

As of January 2023, there are 26 “right-to-work” states plus Guam.^{Note Reference [11]} It is much more challenging to form unions in these states.

Across the nation, graduate student union dues typically range from 1.5-2.5% of gross pay, according to Marchman.

While workers typically must pay membership fees to officially join their union, the union is required to represent all workers. For example, the University of Oregon’s graduate union has 1,100 paying members but it represents all 1,450 graduate employees.

Keep in mind that unions can help workers beyond those who work in universities. GTFF at the University of Oregon helped win a state law that provides paid sick days for all Oregonians in 2015.^[12]

There is no universal reason behind why students unionize. However, there are some commonalities across organizing efforts. Student workers tend to want living wages for their work and consistency in the job description.

There are high turnover rates among student workers due to graduation. So, a union can provide a baseline from one generation of students to the next.

Erin Foley, a student organizer at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, told BestColleges that student resident assistants (RAs) successfully negotiated a raise to $15 an hour in 2022 without a union. However, the college made changes soon after that ultimately increased the workload for RAs after the negotiations.

It was then that Foley and others realized a union would create some year-to-year consistency for RAs.

Our unionizing effort from the start has really been about making the working conditions better for everyone, Foley said. It’s been about protecting the job that we’ve fought so hard to improve conditions for … and creating insurance for future RAs.

Keir Hichens, a student organizer at Grinnell College in Iowa, echoed that sentiment.

Hichens told BestColleges that unionizing isn’t always about helping current students. The process can take years and often outlasts those who first get the ball rolling. The goal, instead, is to ensure better conditions for future students.

All this work, it’s not just for our own benefit, Hichens said.

Students at Grinnell College have been looking to unionize since 2018. Those who started organizing have since graduated, but subsequent cohorts have taken up the mantle to advocate for higher wages.

Hichens explained that students must agree to on-campus work to receive student financial aid.

We’re feeling like we’re trapped in this system where the college can’t run without our labor, Hichens said. But we’re required to do that work on top of our classes.

The result is that students frequently feel like they must work beyond the 20 hours per week their jobs require. A union, Hichens hopes, could negotiate guardrails to prevent overworking students.

Again, it’s about security beyond the current semester.

The role constantly changes, Foley said. And with so much uncertainty, we want to create some stability.

Workers’ demands can vary, but increased salaries, healthcare benefits, guaranteed work for specified timelines, and better protections are the most common reasons for graduate student union strikes.

The table below is not an exhaustive list of all of the major union strikes. However, it includes ones that involved a large number of strikers.

From mid-November to the end of December 2022, roughly 48,000 workers across the University of California system’s 10 campuses protested for change, making it the largest recorded strike in higher education.

During the Temple University Graduate Students Association Strike, the union demanded higher wages, increased healthcare coverage, and leave benefits. The strike lasted for six weeks and led to the university president’s resignation.

After two years of negotiations and a 10-week strike, Student Workers of Columbia (SWC) formally approved an agreement with the university in January 2023. Some notable wins included an increase in wages, an increase in childcare support, dental coverage, and access to mediation for harassment claims.

Union organizing has not just been limited to graduate students: The number of undergraduate student unionizations has skyrocketed in recent years as well. Below are a few notable undergraduate student unions and student organizing efforts.

Started in 2016, the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers was the first union at a private college to represent both undergraduate and graduate student employees, which comes out to over half of the campus population.^[15]

In September 2022, the Temple University Undergraduate Workers Organizing Committee (TUUWOC) formed to improve contracts for Temple University’s undergraduate workers.^[16]

As of March 2023, the organization represents nearly 125 student workers and hopes to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour.^[17] Other demands include overtime pay and improved benefits.^{Note Reference [16]}

With over 4,000 signed union authorization cards, California State student assistants have officially petitioned the California Public Employment Relations Board for a union election.^{Note Reference [17]} Demands included more work hours, paid sick time, and higher wages.

The campaign outcome has the potential to affect thousands of working students across the California school system’s 23 campuses.^{Note Reference [17]}