By Anna Porter, M.A., University of Missouri-Columbia
On December 23rd, 2022, the University of California system and 36,000 graduate student workers reached an agreement, effectively ending the largest higher education strike in the U.S. This historic six-week strike resulted in several beneficial changes for graduate workers, including increased pay, childcare reimbursement, expanded paid leave, and campus fee remissions. The success of the UC graduate student workers is especially notable given that graduate students have traditionally been barred from collective bargaining rights. In the 1970s, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) denied graduate students at private universities the right to unionize, a decision that was upheld until 2016.
The reasons for dissatisfaction among graduate student workers are plentiful. Rising educational debt, increasing racist and transphobic incidents, low stipends, inflation, and the additional stressors associated with navigating the COVID-19 pandemic form the perfect storm of discontent that led to the UC workers’ strike. As graduate students in clinical psychology, these concerns are particularly relevant given that, along with our research work, we also have added clinical responsibilities that may be essential to the functioning of university-run training clinics. Following the UC strike, a new wave of labor organizations has spread to other campuses, including Indiana University, University of Texas, Yale University, Boston University, and Florida State University. So, what have we learned from these organization efforts, and what information is important to consider for graduate students in clinical psychology who may be considering unionizing? Below are some of my thoughts on this issue:
- Graduate students are essential to the functioning of a university. Universities are increasingly relying on graduate student workers, as the growth of graduate student workers continues to outpace the growth of tenure-track faculty in the academic workforce (Kroeger et al., 2018). Whether we work in teaching, research, clinical, or other roles, graduate students are important and valuable. We matter and we deserve to have our concerns heard.
- The right of graduate students to unionize largely depends on the type of university and location. Unionization at private universities is determined by the NLRB, while unionization at public universities is decided at the state level. Not sure where to start? Getting in touch with a local union that has knowledge and experience can be useful; United Auto Workers (UAW) unions represented the UC graduate students throughout negotiations with the university.
- Unionizing has pros and cons. Union-represented graduate students fare better than non-union-represented graduate students in pay and perceived levels of support (Rogers et al., 2013), and unionization does not appear to affect faculty-student relations (Hewitt, 2000; Julius & Gumport, 2003). Unionizing has also been shown to reduce inequities for minoritized individuals (Bivens et al., 2017). However, there are challenges to unionizing as well. The agreements negotiated may not represent the interests of all members; roughly one-third of the UC graduate student union members opposed the final agreement. Additionally, there may be pushback from universities. UC graduate students risked docked pay, and conflict with university officials, and some were arrested for acts of protest.
Overall, it is my view that unionization and collective bargaining are powerful tools for enacting change and reducing systemic inequalities, as demonstrated by the UC graduate student workers strike. Time will tell how the recent increase in organizing efforts at universities across the country may change the landscape of graduate student working conditions for ourselves and future graduate students. Interested in learning more about unionization? A good place to start is reaching out to the UAW organizing department, which can answer questions and get you connected with resources._______________________________________________________
References
Bivens, J., Engdahl, L., Gould, E., Kroeger, T., McNicholas, C., Mishel, L., Mokhiber, Z., Shierholz, H., Wilpert, M.V., Zipperer, B., & Wilson, V. (2017). How Today’s Unions Help Working People. Economic Policy Institute. https:// www.epi.org/publication/how-todays-unions-help-working-people-giving-workers-the-power-to-improve-their-jobsand-unrig-the-economy/
Hewitt, G. J. (2000). Graduate student employee collective bargaining and the educational relationship between faculty and graduate students. Journal of Collective Negotiations, 29(2).
Julius, D. J., & Gumport, P. J. (2003). Graduate student unionization: Catalysts and consequences. The Review of Higher Education, 26(2), 187-216.
Kroeger, T., McNicholas, C., Wilpert, M. V., & Wolfe, J. (2018). The State of Graduate Student Employee Unions: Momentum to Organize among Graduate Student Workers Is Growing Despite Opposition. Economic Policy Institute.
Rogers, S. E., Eaton, A. E., & Voos, P. B. (2013). Effects of unionization on graduate student employees: Faculty-student relations, academic freedom, and pay. ILR Review, 66(2), 487-510.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS).