Administration officials contend that research and teaching assistants are students, not workers, and want to take the matter to federal court.

The decision affects about 5,000 graduate students at the university who are eligible to join the union.

Quentin Wheeler’s firing of department chairs earlier this year didn’t sit well with university faculty members.  

Student workers seek voluntary recognition of their unions by university administrators out of concern that political appointees may deny their unions legal status.

The university’s administration tried unsuccessfully to stop the vote.

The California legislature takes steps to broaden the ability of graduate students to unionize by extending collective bargaining rights to research assistants.

University of Michigan graduate research assistants continue their protest as the bill that would prevent their collective bargaining rights passes the State House and Senate.

Michigan’s employment commission is exploring whether graduate students at state schools have the right to unionize.