Within moments of her first day on the job at Oregon State University, science graduate student Mary Schutter says she knew she was an employee. It was clear to me that this is the first job of our careers. In San Francisco, Calif., students rally for a living wage. In their attempts to thwart organizing drives among graduate employees, many universities argue that these workers are students and not employees. Rutgers University historian Kevin Mattson says that hasn't been true for more than 30 years, ever since graduate students formed the first union at the University of Wisconsin Madison with AFT in 1967.
Some states specifically prohibit students from joining a union.
Before they could organize at the University of California, academic student employees had to take their case to the Public Employee Relations Board, which ruled they could form a union. When the university still refused to recognize the workers' efforts to join the UAW, they went on strike twice in three years. Strong support on the campuses and mediation from pro-worker members of Congress and the state legislature led to elections last spring, when an overwhelming majority of the 8,500 academic student employees voted for the union. Click here for subscription information. And if you're looking for dignity, respect and a fair relationship with your employer, joining a union is the way to go.