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Ivy League Graduate Assistants Strike
By Gwendolyn Bradley
Graduate assistants at Yale and Columbia universities staged one-week strikes in April to protest the universities' opposition to graduate employee unionization. It was the first multicampus strike for Ivy League graduate assistants, whose struggle to win union recognition was dealt a setback last year by a National Labor Relations Board ruling that graduate assistants at Brown University were not employees as defined by the National Labor Relations Act. The AAUP filed an amicus brief in the Brown case, arguing that unionization is consistent with academic freedom and that graduate assistant unionization does not violate academic freedom or harm faculty-student mentoring relationships. The brief also pointed out that state courts have found collective bargaining by student-employees compatible with academic freedom.
Because of the ruling, collective bargaining at private institutions depends on administrations voluntarily recognizing graduate employee unions. The striking students did not teach classes, grade papers, or conduct review or discussion sections. In addition to union recognition, the strikers seek healthcare benefits for family members and a grievance process.
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