Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Monday 5 February 2018

Trump era throws wrench into grad students’ hopes for unions

By KAREN MATTHEWS community opposition to
Associated Press Columbia’s decision not to
NEW YORK (AP) — Gradu- bargain.
ate teaching assistants “People expect that from
at private universities had a Walmart,” Kushner said.
high hopes 18 months ago “They don’t expect it from
when a federal labor board a prestigious university.”
ruled that they had a right Randi Weingarten, head of
to collective bargaining, the American Federation
but after the election of of Teachers, which is work-
President Donald Trump, ing with graduate students
some schools are taking at the University of Chicago
another shot at halting the and elsewhere, accused
burgeoning unionization administrators of “trying to
movement. run out the clock,” on the
Columbia University an- unionization movement,
nounced in a university- “cynically calculating that
wide email Tuesday that a Donald Trump-appointed
the school wouldn’t bar- board will move to trample
gain with the graduate it.” Some universities have
students who voted more not said outright that they
than 2 to 1 for union rep- won’t bargain with gradu-
resentation, and would in- ate students but have filed
stead appeal to a federal appeals challenging the
court. Yale and Boston Col- validity of elections.
lege, among others, have Boston College has argued
also filed legal appeals, In this Feb. 1, 2018 photo, demonstrators advocate for a union at Columbia University in New York that the NLRB rulings don’t
rather than begin negoti- after the school announced earlier in the week that it won’t bargain with the students who voted apply because it is a Ro-
ating with newly unionized overwhelmingly for union representation more than a year ago. man Catholic institution.
students. Associated Press Other universities, includ-
It may be a sign that ad- graduate students. and Obama. Trump’s nomi- students as students, not ing American University in
ministrators are anticipat- Universities have generally nee for the fifth seat, man- workers. Washington, D.C., and Tufts
ing that the National La- argued that even though agement-side labor lawyer “Our concern here is simply and Brandeis in the Boston
bor Relations Board, now graduate teaching as- John Ring, awaits Senate about the potential effects area, have agreed to ne-
being reconstituted with sistants are paid — their confirmation. of unionization on our abil- gotiate with newly union-
appointees of the strongly mean annual pay was Chaz Lee, a graduate stu- ity to provide our students ized students.
pro-business Republican $35,810 in 2016, according dent in music history at the with the individualized sup- Stephan Lefebvre, a grad-
president, will reverse the to the Bureau of Labor Sta- University of Chicago, said port they need to flourish in uate student in economics
decision it made in 2016 tistics — treating them like a pro-union vote there their research and teach- who is on the bargaining
and declare that graduate employees would disrupt in October was “a really ing,” University of Chicago committee at American
students are not employ- the mentoring relationship heartening moment for all Executive Vice Provost Da- University, said talks are go-
ees after all. between budding scholars of us.” vid Nirenberg said in a let- ing well.
“It’s not a crazy strategy and the professors supervis- He had hoped it would lead ter to graduate students. “I won’t be happy until it’s
to stall because it is very ing their academic pursuits to better pay and health Columbia administrators in the books,” he said.
likely that this board with a and research. insurance coverage. Many voiced a similar concern Matt Dauphin, the higher
number of appointees from The NLRB’s position on graduate students struggle after teaching assistants education coordinator for
Trump will return to the idea whether students have a to find affordable housing voted to join the United Service Employees Inter-
that graduate students are right to unionize has shifted. near the university, he said. Auto Workers. national Union Local 509,
primarily students,” said In 2004, during the presi- “Some departments give “We remain convinced which represents grad stu-
Harry Katz, a professor of dency of George W. Bush, raises; some don’t,” he that the relationship of dents at Tufts and Brandeis,
collective bargaining at a Republican, the board said. “None of these are graduate students to the said negotiations started
Cornell University’s School ruled that graduate stu- enshrined in a contract faculty that instruct them last fall at both campuses.
of Industrial and Labor Re- dent instructors are not that ensures that our com- must not be reduced to “At this point we are opti-
lations. Unions have repre- employees. The board re- pensation would go up to ordinary terms of employ- mistic about our chances
sented teaching and re- versed itself in 2016 under stay in line with the cost of ment,” Columbia University to meet a signed con-
search assistants at public President Barack Obama, living.” Provost John Coatsworth tract,” he said.
universities for decades, a Democrat. After the unionization vote, said in his email to the uni- Dauphin said he hopes the
but New York University is The five-member NLRB cur- the university filed a motion versity community Tuesday. negotiations will continue
the only private university rently has four members urging the NLRB to reverse Julie Kushner, the regional even if the NLRB reverses
in the U.S. with a collective who are split evenly be- its 2016 ruling and once head of the UAW, said the itself on graduate student
bargaining agreement with tween appointees of Trump again designate graduate union hopes to mobilize union rights.q