We respect your right to make your voice heard on this topic and for eligible graduate students to exercise their right to vote. In the upcoming election, eligible graduate students will be asked to vote yay or nay on whether the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America should represent them in a process to negotiate terms and conditions of employment with Princeton. Because unionization would impose a new legal and contractual framework that could materially change your experience at Princeton, the University believes it is essential for you to be fully informed before deciding whether unionization is right for you and your fellow graduate students. We are committed to ensuring that each eligible graduate student reaches a decision without pressure from students, faculty, or administrators. The outcome of an election would be determined by a simple majority of eligible voters who turn out to vote. For more information about the University's position and your eligibility to vote, please see the April 23 memo from Dean Priestley.

A union is an organization that serves as an agent that represents a group of employees (a “bargaining unit”) for purposes of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment (i.e., pay, benefits, and working conditions) in a process called “collective bargaining.”  The members of a bargaining unit share a community of interest based on their occupation, duties, payment structure, etc.  Unionization at private employers like Princeton is governed by the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).  The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) enforces the NLRA.  Local unions are often affiliated with national organizations; different unions represent graduate assistants throughout the country, and each union has its own values, governance, and approach to collective bargaining.

The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America has filed a petition with the NLRB to hold a secret ballot election to determine whether graduate students who are employees of the University wish UE to represent them in collective bargaining with the University. An election is determined by a simple majority of eligible voters who actually vote, not a majority of the proposed bargaining unit.  If the union receives a majority of the votes cast, it becomes the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit (including of those who did not vote or voted against the union) for collective bargaining.  Both the union and the employer are obligated under the NLRA to negotiate in good faith towards a collective bargaining agreement, sometimes referred to as a union contract.

An authorization card is a signed legal document that designates the union as the signer’s exclusive representative for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment.  Unions collect authorization cards in an attempt to show that there is a substantial interest in union representation.  Signing a union authorization card does not obligate you to vote in favor of the union in an election; however, unless and until an election is held, the NLRB may accept your signed card as evidence that you desire union representation.

No. Although unions try to obtain information about potential voters during an organizing drive, you have no obligation to provide personal or any other information.  Unions are not bound by privacy restrictions and can use your information for purposes of their choosing.  However, the University is required to provide eligible voters’ contact information to the NLRB and the union, subject to the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

The bargaining unit is defined as follows:

Included: All graduate students enrolled in Princeton University degree programs who currently hold appointments as Assistants in Instruction and/or Assistants in Research (or such other titles used to describe those same appointments).

Excluded: All other employees; undergraduate students; graduate students not holding appointments as Assistants in Instruction or Assistants in Research (or such other titles used to describe those same appointments); hourly employees; Fellows; graduate students not seeking Princeton University degrees, including visiting students; office clericals; managers; guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.

Graduate students included in the above-defined bargaining unit who were employed during the payroll period ending March 31, 2024 are eligible to vote.  Voting will take place in person on May 13 and 14, 2024 from 9am-1pm and 2-6pm both days in Room 302 of Frist Campus Center.  

The outcome of the election is determined by a majority of those who actually vote, not the majority of those eligible to vote.  The result of the vote is binding on all individuals in the bargaining unit as well as those who occupy union-represented positions in the future; you cannot “opt out” of the union by declining to vote.

If a majority of voters elect union representation, the union is certified as the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit and remains so indefinitely.  If members later wish to remove or replace the union, they must follow the appropriate NLRA processes (which typically requires an additional election).  If the majority of voters elect not to unionize, there is a one-year waiting period before another election can be held.

The outcome of an election will be determined by the majority of those who vote. If the majority of voters elect union representation and your position is deemed to be in the bargaining unit, your terms and conditions of employment will be governed by the eventual collective bargaining agreement even if you choose not to vote or not to join the union. If a union is certified by the NLRB, you are likely to be required to pay dues or fees for the union to represent you. If you are eligible to vote, the election is your opportunity to vote yay or nay to ensure that the outcome represents the collective will of graduate students.

Dues are the cost of membership in a union.  Dues are set by the union and typically vary between one to two percent of pay (or roughly $500 to $1,000 for those receiving full 12-month support based on AY 2023-24 AR stipend rates). Some (but not all) unions additionally require new members to pay an initiation fee.

Even if you are represented by the union, you are not required to become a union member.  If you choose not to join, you will likely still be required to pay an “agency fee” in exchange for representation, and the union will still negotiate the terms and conditions of your employment. The amount of an agency fee is set by the union, but it cannot exceed the union's cost of representing the bargaining unit; typically, an agency fee is roughly equivalent to dues. You can look at the collective bargaining agreements of graduate students at other research universities (linked in these FAQs) for examples of dues and agency fees.

Union dues and agency fees are used to cover the costs of collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance resolution.  Unions may also use dues to organize employees of other employers and to advocate for issues of interest to their members; agency fees are generally not used for these purposes.  Unions must annually disclose their revenues and expenditures on forms specified by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Negotiations for a first contract can take time—from months to a year or longer.  During this time, the status quo remains in effect.  Typically, each side (the union and the employer) appoints a bargaining team to meet and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA” or “contract”).  Unions have their own internal rules about how members of a bargaining team are selected, and often the national union provides one or more paid union representatives to lead or participate in negotiations with management.

Under the NLRA, unions and employers are required to bargain over the terms and conditions of employment, including things like wages, hours, leave, health insurance, and dispute resolution procedures.  These are mandatory subjects of bargaining, and both the union and the employer must negotiate in good faith to attempt to reach mutually acceptable terms (however the employer cannot be compelled to accept specific terms).  Matters that are unrelated to the terms and conditions of employment, but are otherwise lawful, are permissive subjects of bargaining.  Unlike for mandatory topics, neither the union nor the employer can be compelled under the NLRA to negotiate over permissive topics or to include them in a CBA.  Unions and employers cannot negotiate over legal requirements, such as federal immigration law or Title IX regulations.

Most subjects relating to your status as a student (not an employee) will not be mandatory subjects of bargaining.  For example, the University cannot be required to bargain over academic matters (such as who is admitted to the Graduate School, curricular decisions, or research methodologies); virtually all collective bargaining agreements with graduate students make clear that the university retains the authority to determine what is taught and who does the teaching.  Similarly, an employer cannot be compelled to make major operational changes or investments, such as building new buildings or housing. An employer may decide to address permissive subjects of bargaining inside a CBA, outside of a CBA, or not at all.

While Princeton is always looking for ways to improve the graduate student experience, no one can predict the outcome of negotiations.  Neither side is required to agree to a particular proposal.  A contract is the outcome of good faith negotiations and give-and-take between the parties; both the union and the employer must agree on the contract's terms.  Current benefits can go up, down, or remain the same as a result of bargaining.

Collective bargaining focuses on employees as a group, not individuals.  This means that a union would speak and act for all graduate students in the bargaining unit, and the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement would apply to all unit members whether an individual objects to parts of it or not, unless the contract explicitly provides for exceptions.  The union decides what to prioritize in negotiations, what positions to pursue or not pursue, and ultimately, what agreement to reach with the University in a proposed contract.  A union contract is ratified by its members according to the union’s bylaws.  Depending on the union’s rules, represented employees who choose not to join the union may or may not be able to vote to ratify the contract that will apply to them as members of the collective bargaining unit.

Collective bargaining agreements typically have grievance and arbitration provisions for the resolution of employment disputes.  The grievance and arbitration process can be time-consuming and often legalistic.  If a particular dispute is not resolved between the parties after several steps of grievance resolution (usually involving progressively higher levels of management at each step), the contract will typically require it to be decided by an arbitrator, who is a neutral third-party skilled in labor relations.  After taking evidence from witnesses offered by the union and the employer, an arbitrator can decide a disputed issue either in favor of or against the union.  Arbitration decisions are rarely overturned on appeal to the courts, as the legal standard of review is highly deferential and very limited in scope. Accordingly, the arbitrator’s decision for the parties is usually legally binding upon the parties.

This grievance process would not apply to academic matters and would not likely apply to Title IX complaints (which must be adjudicated pursuant to processes governed by federal regulations).

International students are eligible to be included in a bargaining unit, vote, and join a union on the same basis as domestic students.  Some topics of particular concern to international students, such as U.S. immigration and tax policy and curricular practical training (CPT), may be outside the scope of collective bargaining either because they are governed by U.S. state and federal law, or because they are academic matters not subject to mandatory bargaining. 

Probably so, but with some limitations.  For those graduate students it represents (both union members and non-union members), a union would be the exclusive voice to the University on pay, work hours, and other employment matters.  This means that Princeton would likely be limited in its ability to discuss these issues with other graduate student groups, though the parameters may be subject to negotiation and cannot be predicted in advance.

Every university is unique and consequently not all graduate students, unions, and universities take the same approach to collective bargaining.  For example, at public universities, the risks and rewards of pursuing a bargaining subject, acceding to a demand, demanding arbitration, or engaging in a strike are much clearer because public sector labor law often addresses these issues.  Many states have written into their labor laws provisions that protect academic decisions from the collective bargaining process.  By contrast, federal labor law (which would apply to Princeton) has not been tailored to address the needs of higher education. 

We encourage you to read the collective bargaining agreements reached at peer institutions when considering whether unionization is right for you.  You can find links to some publicly available agreements below:

• Brown
• Columbia
• Georgetown
• Harvard
• NYU
• Yale

Graduate student voices matter at Princeton, and there are many channels in place for graduate student voices to be heard.

At the University level, graduate students serve on the:

• University Priorities Committee, which is chaired by the provost and reviews and makes recommendations on Princeton’s operating budget and related issues including graduate student stipends;
   
• Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC);
   
• University Student Life Committee, along with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs of the Graduate School, undergraduate student representatives, faculty representatives and various other University administrators (This committee serves to foster relationships among academic, residential and social experiences of undergraduates and graduate students.); and
   
• Student Health Plan Advisory Council.
   
• Graduate students also often serve in the search and interview process for Graduate School positions and key University positions.

At the Graduate School level:

• University faculty voted April 1, 2024, to accept the proposal of the Graduate School to add graduate students to the Graduate School’s four governing subcommittees responsible for reviewing and making recommendations on academic policies, curriculum, fellowships, and student life and discipline. Previously, all subcommittee members were Princeton faculty. The Graduate Student Government (GSG) and the Graduate School will each designate four students to sit on the subcommittees. Student terms will begin with the coming academic year.
   
• You can participate in the Graduate Student Government (GSG) to advocate for your needs and interests and those of your fellow graduate students.  The GSG holds monthly assembly meetings, and a representative from the Graduate School attends the meetings.  In addition, the GSG Executive Board meets regularly with the deans of the Graduate School.  Graduate School deans and key administrators in the various University Services departments meet regularly with the GSG Executive Board to discuss issues of concern for graduate students, solicit feedback, and provide updates.
   
• The Graduate Housing Advisory Board (composed of representatives from the GSG and the Lakeside, Lawrence and the Graduate College housing committees) meets monthly with Housing and Graduate School staff members to address housing issues and concerns.  (This Advisory Board will be expanded to include representatives from a Meadows housing committee.)The Assistant Director for Student Affairs and Residential Life also attends monthly meetings with each of the graduate residential housing committees.
   
• The GSG Events Board meets every two weeks along with Graduate School staff to allocate funding to graduate student groups.
   
• Graduate students served on the Future of the Graduate School taskforce and the Graduate Student Mentoring taskforce.
   
• Individual students routinely meet with members of the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School to discuss areas those staff members oversee: academics, professional development, finances, student life, and diversity and inclusion.
   
• Dean Priestley holds office hours for students; any graduate student can sign up to talk with him during his office hours.

At the Departmental level:

• Graduate students can participate in Graduate Student Departmental Committees.

By taking full advantage of existing mechanisms and opportunities for input and potentially suggesting new ones, you can continue to help shape policies and programs at Princeton.

We welcome the opportunity to answer student questions.  We will offer a Q-and-A session where graduate students with questions may seek answers from representatives of the Graduate School and other relevant University offices.  Watch your email for more information on the session. In addition, students are always encouraged to attend Dean Priestley's office hours regarding any matter. Students may also email questions.