In a contract that still needs to be ratified by union members, the university has agreed to boost student pay and allow for independent arbitration in cases of alleged misconduct and discrimination.
Graduate students planned a three-day-long strike to demand fair pay, union security, and improved protections against sexual harassment and discrimination. If an agreement isn’t met, the union says they may strike longer, potentially disrupting university research.
Student workers have cited a lack of transparency and a failure to implement rapid and widespread testing among their many concerns regarding the school’s response to the pandemic.
The National Labor Relations Board has gone back-and-forth on whether graduate students at private universities can form unions three times in the past 19 years.
Observers expect that the National Labor Relations Board will reverse an Obama-era determination that graduate students are employees entitled to form unions.
Student workers seek voluntary recognition of their unions by university administrators out of concern that political appointees may deny their unions legal status.