This archive report was first published on 22 September 2019.
On September 20, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (N.L.R.B.) proposed a rule that could significantly impact graduate student unionization efforts. The proposed rule, which is open for public comment until November 19, 2019, could give universities the upper hand in negotiations with graduate student unions.
According to Jonathan L. Swain, a Harvard spokesman, the university is reviewing the proposed rule to assess its implications. The rule, if implemented, could create a process for union members only, separate from the provisions of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which could be a violation of federal law.
Former N.L.R.B. chairman, Mr. Gould, expressed concerns that the regulation could be used by universities to discontinue or limit bargaining with graduate student unions. He stated, 'This could be an additional reason that they could articulate or rely upon to discontinue bargaining, or limit bargaining on certain issues.'
The proposed rule is the latest development in a long-standing issue that has divided the N.L.R.B. along partisan lines for two decades. In 2000, the board overturned a precedent and gave students at New York University the right to unionize, but this ruling was later reversed in 2004. The board switched back to the pro-union standard in 2016.
