phd students union

Question of the Day

What happens if an employee who is not part of the GSU-UE chooses not to work in support of the union?

Non-unionized, non-supervisory staff have the same strike rights as GSU-UE bargaining unit members. They may strike, or not strike, without coercion or retaliation. If they elect to strike, however, their compensation may be withheld. In addition, if they engage in unlawful unprotected strike activity, such as a partial withholding of their labor, they may be subject to discipline. Other MIT staff who are members of unions that have active collective bargaining agreements with no-strike clauses do not have the right to participate in an MIT GSU-UE strike by not working. They are expected to be at work and fulfilling their job responsibilities. MIT faculty and other managerial and supervisory employees are not generally covered by the NLRA and do not have a legal right to participate in any GSU-UE strike.

Graduate Student Unionization

Contract Ratified

The MIT Graduate Student Union (GSU) has voted to ratify its contract with the Institute, which is now in effect through May 31, 2026. The agreement strikes a balance that will serve all members of the MIT community. We look forward to moving ahead with a sense of new beginnings.

MIT has negotiated a first contract with the GSU. The students who are included in the GSU’s bargaining unit are teaching assistants, research assistants, and instructor Gs.

FAQs about Graduate Student Unionization

Updated September 7, 2022

On April 6, 2022, Chancellor Melissa Nobles and Vice Chancellor Ian Waitz announced the results of the April 4-5 graduate student unionization election ; congratulated current and past MIT GSU-UE members on their four years of dedicated work that culminated in the union’s victory; and committed to bargain in good-faith with the union over the terms and conditions of employment for bargaining unit members.

The following frequently asked questions provide answers to questions the community may have in light of the new graduate student union. Community members with questions about unions and unionization that are not addressed below may contact [email protected] .

BACKGROUND / MEMBERSHIP

Q: What does it mean that MIT now has a graduate student union?

A: MIT is required to recognize the union as the exclusive bargaining representative of all graduate students in the certified unit. This means, among other things, that the Institute would not be able to work with any other body or organization, including the MIT Graduate Student Council, on matters affecting wages, hours, and working conditions for those in the certified unit, nor could MIT negotiate directly with any individual member of the unit on any matter affecting wages, hours, and working conditions, unless otherwise authorized by the contract.

MIT and the union will also have to meet their obligation to negotiate in good faith for that initial collective bargaining agreement. First contracts can take a very long time to finalize: A June 2021 Bloomberg Law analysis estimated that, on average, it takes 409 days for new unions and their employers to sign their first collective bargaining agreement; in all cases involving student unions at private universities, more than a year elapsed between a successful unionization vote and arrival at a ratified initial contract. At Harvard University, this process took almost two years, and at Columbia University, there is still no contract four years after the union’s certification.

Q: Who is included in the bargaining unit?

The bargaining unit certified by the NLRB is:

Graduate students enrolled in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) degree programs who are employed to provide instructional or research services, including research assistants, teaching assistants, and instructor G’s, but excluding undergraduate students; graduate student resident advisors; graduate fellows who are not also employed as either research assistants or teaching assistants; hourly graders who are not also employed as either research assistants or teaching assistants; graduate students not seeking MIT degrees, including visiting students; office clericals, managers, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.

However, certain research assistants in the Linguistics and Political Science departments; hourly employees who are not graders and who may provide instructional or research services; and graduate students conducting research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) who are either supervised or paid by MIT (but not both), are neither included in or excluded from the bargaining unit covered by this certification, inasmuch as the parties did not agree on the inclusion or exclusion of these classifications but agreed to vote them subject to challenge and resolution of their inclusion or exclusion was unnecessary because their ballots were not determinative of the election results.

Q: Will MIT share graduate students’ email addresses or other contact information with the union?

MIT is required to provide information about graduate students to the NLRB in response to any petition for representation that may be filed. When this occurs, the union would have access to the same information MIT provides to the NLRB. This information could include addresses, job classifications, phone numbers, and personal email addresses. MIT would have to disclose such information to the NLRB and to the union in the event of a scheduled NLRB election.

Note: MIT respects the privacy of our graduate students and generally does not disclose personal information about them to third parties except with their consent, or to MIT-sanctioned organizations and MIT personnel on a need-to-know basis. Further, many of our graduate students may also be considered employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and MIT does not provide personal information about employees to organizing unions outside the formal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) process.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING / NEGOTIATION 

Q: Where can I learn more about the progress of  the Collective Bargaining agreement? 

We will keep the MIT community updated on progress. You can also find relevant news and resources by visiting this website .

Q: Could MIT make exceptions to provisions in a collective bargaining agreement to accommodate the needs of individual graduate students?

A: As a general rule, no. MIT would be bound by the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement. Unless such exceptions are provided for in the contract or otherwise agreed to by the union, they are not permitted.

For example, if a contract set parameters on the work hours for a research assistant, an individual graduate student would not be able to make personal arrangements with their advisor or PI to work outside those parameters, unless the contract provided for exceptions or unless the union agreed to such arrangements.

Q: In collective bargaining negotiations, can MIT propose its own provisions or changes from the status quo?

A: Yes. Both MIT and the union representatives are free to propose any items or provisions for the contract, including changes from the status quo involving wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Employers and unions are required by federal law to bargain collectively over “wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.” Other issues of importance to many students — such as local housing costs and participation in Institute decision-making — are outside the scope of what is required to be negotiated.

Q: What is the process for changing affiliations after a union has been established?

A: Once a union is certified by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the union may not be removed unless decertified by the NLRB . Similar to the certification process, employees seeking to remove or replace the existing union with a different union must get at least 30 percent of their coworkers to sign cards in order to file a petition asking the NLRB to conduct an election.

GENERAL INFORMATION ON UNIONS AND THE UNIONIZATION PROCESS

Q: What is the NLRB?

A: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is a federal agency created to enforce the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a federal law to protect the rights of employees and employers. The law protects the rights of employees to choose or reject union representation.

Q: What is a union?

A: A union, or labor organization, is any organization or association of any kind in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers on wages, benefits, hours, grievances or other terms or conditions of employment. A union that represents a majority of employees in an “appropriate bargaining unit,” and that has been certified by the NLRB following an election or voluntarily recognized by an employer, serves as the representative of that bargaining unit on all such matters involving wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. An appropriate bargaining unit is a group of employees who share a clear and identifiable community of interest sufficient to be represented by a union.

A union that has been certified by the NLRB, or that has been voluntarily recognized by an employer, negotiates a contract (also known as a collective bargaining agreement) on behalf of the bargaining unit to establish the terms and conditions of employment, including such things as wages, hours of work, benefits, and other working conditions. A union also represents its members when disputes arise over the terms of the contract.

Q: What are union dues?

A: Dues are the cost of membership in a union. They are used to cover the costs of negotiating a contract, contract administration and resolutions of grievances (claims of breach of contract). In addition, unions also use dues for the purpose of organizing employees at other employers, and to make political contributions.

Q: What is the election process to form a union?

A: The election process is conducted and supervised by representatives of the NLRB. An election is typically held within approximately three or four weeks after the filing of a representation petition by the union, but the timing may differ depending upon how the NLRB treats outstanding bargaining unit issues, and how long it takes to resolve those issues. Once an election date is set, secret ballot voting would likely take place in a central location at a designated date and time, or by a mail-in process, as determined by the NLRB.

The election outcome is determined by a simple majority of those who actually vote, not by a majority of all eligible voters. Union representation will be determined by voters, and will be binding on both voters and non-voters in the proposed bargaining unit. Therefore, it is important that all members of a proposed bargaining unit vote, even if they are not interested in unionization.

Those who have already signed membership or authorization cards are not obligated to vote in favor of the union during the secret ballot election: They are free to change their mind. Once a petition is filed with the NLRB, and the showing of interest is confirmed, membership or authorization cards usually serve no further purpose.

Q: What does the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) say regarding negotiations?

A: Section 8(d) of the NLRA states:

For the purposes of this section, to bargain collectively is the performance of the mutual obligation of the employer and the representative of the employees to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, or the negotiation of an agreement, or any question arising thereunder, and the execution of a written contract incorporating any agreement reached if requested by either party, but such obligation does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or require the making of a concession.

Q: Is anything required to be in a collective bargaining agreement?

A: No, the NLRA does not require that any particular right or provision be part of a contract. Collective bargaining agreements normally have provisions on compensation and benefits, workload and assignments, hours of work, grievance procedures and a variety of other provisions, but no particular provisions are mandated by law. You may find some contracts have a particular provision but another contract might not — it all depends on what those parties have chosen to include in their agreements. The law requires good-faith negotiations over mandatory subjects of bargaining. However, the law specifically does not require either party to make a particular concession or to agree to a particular proposal during negotiations.

Q: What might be covered in a union contract?

A: The NLRA requires employers and unions to bargain collectively over “wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.” These are called mandatory subjects of bargaining, over which the parties must negotiate.

Other topics of interest that do not fall under the umbrella of mandatory negotiations might be addressed by the parties as “permissive” subjects — topics over which neither side is required to negotiate. Items such as the hiring process and housing costs would fall into that category. The NLRB has not yet addressed with any specificity what “terms and conditions of employment” are in the graduate student context. In a case involving Columbia University graduate students, the NLRB stated that academic decisions remain the prerogative of the university, but what constitutes an academic versus a non-academic decision is not yet clear.

There may be many issues of importance to our students that would not be considered mandatory subjects of bargaining under the law, such as concerns about student housing.

Some guidance about the terms and conditions that may be addressed in a contract can be gleaned from examining other graduate student contracts. For example, the contract between Harvard University and its graduate student teaching and research assistants represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) covers numerous terms and conditions of employment such as salaries, benefits, working hours, and grievance procedures; nondiscrimination provisions; leaves of absence; job postings; and access to offices.

However, many rights are retained by Harvard. In the Harvard contract with the UAW, the university retains the exclusive right to determine and control the university’s mission, objectives, priorities, operations, and resources, among many other rights. Harvard also retains the right to control “all matters of academic judgment and decision-making, including ‘who is taught, what is taught, how it is taught and who does the teaching.’” All matters affecting research methodology and materials, and external grants including application, selection, funding, administration, usage, accountability, and termination are also retained by Harvard.

Also, there are great variations in union contracts because it is up to the parties to those contracts to decide what they will agree to and what they will not. The appearance of a clause in one contract — no matter what it is — does not guarantee that it will appear in an MIT contract if the union were to be elected.

Q: How many graduate student union contracts are there around the country?

A: There are about 42 graduate student contracts, according to the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions. The majority are at public universities; there are only nine graduate student union contracts in the private sector, at American University, Brandeis University, Brown University, Columbia University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, The New School, New York University, and Tufts University.

Q: Are state labor laws different from the NLRA?

A: Yes. In many cases, state and federal laws differ significantly when it comes to issues such as bargaining topics, negotiation impasse procedures, the right to strike, and required union membership. For example, strikes are prohibited under most state laws, making strikes rare at public universities, but strikes are legal in the private sector.

Many state laws also, for example, specify what issues are considered “terms and conditions of employment,” and therefore subject to collective bargaining, and what issues are “academic,” and therefore not subject to collective bargaining. Federal law is not tailored to address the issues of academic and educational matters related to graduate student activities.

Q: How long do student union contract negotiations typically take? Have students represented by unions at other universities gone on strike?

A: A June 2021 Bloomberg Law analysis estimated that, on average, it takes 409 days for new unions and their employers to sign their first collective bargaining agreement (CBA). * Negotiations began in October 2018 and ended in June 2020, and included a 29-day strike in December 2019. The parties initially agreed only to a one-year contract, which expired on June 30, 2021. The parties agreed to a second contract, which was ratified in November 2021, with 70.6 percent of voters in support of the new deal, and after a three-day strike and the threat of a second strike.

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Johns Hopkins PhD students vote in favor of unionization

Approximately 3,200 student workers across jhu's 65 phd programs will be represented by tru-ue in collective bargaining with the university.

By Hub staff report

PhD student workers at Johns Hopkins University voted overwhelmingly in favor of union representation this week, opting to make Teachers and Researchers United–United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (TRU-UE) their exclusive representative for the purposes of collective bargaining.

In voting held by the National Labor Relations Board at three Hopkins campuses on Monday and Tuesday, 2,053 students voted in favor of unionization and 67 voted against. Approximately 3,200 student workers across JHU's 65 PhD programs will be represented by TRU-UE in collective bargaining with the university.

Johns Hopkins graduate student workers vote to unionize in Baltimore: ‘We are one body’

"We look forward to working together with TRU-UE to negotiate a first collective bargaining agreement over the coming weeks and months," Sunil Kumar , provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, and Nancy Kass , vice provost for graduate and professional education, wrote in a message to the university community today. "As the birthplace of doctoral education in America, we recognize this as an opportunity to ensure JHU continues to build on its legacy of not only providing world-class doctoral education and training but developing innovative new approaches to supporting our PhD students in achieving personal and professional success."

The unionization of Hopkins PhD students is part of a growing national trend. Graduate students at Yale and Boston University voted to unionize within the past month and a half, joining successful recent unionization efforts at Columbia, Harvard, Georgetown, and many other universities.

Posted in University News

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Hopkins PhD students to decide whether to unionize

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A message on graduate student unionization

Dear members of the Stanford community,

On April 3, the Stanford Graduate Workers Union (SGWU) publicly launched a unionization campaign. As many of you may know, these organizing efforts follow a 2016 decision by the National Labor Relations Board that gave graduate students working as teaching or research assistants at private universities the right to unionize.

We recognize and greatly value the many contributions that graduate students make to Stanford’s mission of teaching and research. Stanford’s relationship with our graduate students is, first and foremost, an educational one. Stanford believes that the instructional and research activities in which PhD students engage are primarily in service of their training for the careers they will pursue after they obtain their degree, whether in academia or elsewhere. Our vibrant graduate student community across Stanford’s seven schools is also a diverse one, with distinct individual voices and perspectives. As graduate students consider their path forward, we wish to summarize the principles that will inform the university’s approach.

First, the decision to unionize is a consequential one, both for current and for future graduate students. During this process, graduate students’ most important role will be to educate themselves about unionization and to exercise their right to vote. Stanford commits to providing factual information to our community through this website.

We encourage every graduate student to consider closely what it means to become a member of a union, what it means to engage in collective bargaining, and what it means to have their educational experience governed by a collective bargaining agreement. It is important to note that, if elected, the union will represent not only today’s graduate students, but future graduate students, who will not have the same opportunity to vote on union representation.

Second, this is a complex topic, on which reasonable people can disagree. As leaders of a learning community, we invite and encourage graduate students and others to engage in robust discussion of these issues. At the same time, it’s critical that individuals do not attempt to unduly influence students’ choices or their votes. Graduate students must be free to make this decision on their own.

Third, unionization is about employment matters, not academic ones. Should graduate students vote to be represented by the SGWU, it is our strong position that academic matters, including admissions decisions, curriculum and degree requirements, organization of programs, academic standards, evaluation of academic progress, and assignment of research and teaching assistant roles, are rights that should be retained by the university.

As graduate students make this consequential decision, we are committed to an ongoing, open dialogue with them within the parameters that the law in this area allows. Just as we are dedicated to deepening their expertise, nurturing their creativity, and ultimately preparing them for future success, we will continue to work hard to understand, appreciate, and be responsive to the needs of our graduate students, so that we may also foster their well-being throughout their time at Stanford.

Marc Tessier-Lavigne President

Persis Drell Provost

Will Duke University have the first graduate student union in the South? Election starts now.

Members of the unofficial Duke Graduate Student Union gathered on the quad outside Duke Chapel last week with boxes of pizza they handed out free to any PhD student.

Engineering student Patrick Faught wore a button on his shirt that said, “Ask me about my union.” He’s been wearing it around campus, and getting more and more questions from fellow students as the union election approaches.

“It's a great icebreaker to talk to people I otherwise wouldn't,” Faught said.

Students who support a union have been working toward this election for years. Christopher Kilner was a first-year PhD student in environmental science when students tried to unionize six years ago. Now he’s about to graduate.

“I was here, way back in 2017, when the first union vote failed,” Kilner said. “So, to see it in my time here go from that to an opportunity to win — is really exciting.”

In 2017, many students who voted in the election tended to be divided between fields, with fewer students in STEM departments voting for the union. This time, organizers say they have more support from across departments. They believe they have the numbers to win.

Last summer, union supporters ran a membership drive. They say a “rapidly growing majority” of students who are eligible to vote in the election have signed union cards to join. They are considered a direct-join union now, but they need to win this election to be recognized.

“We started trying to fight for a legally recognized union with bargaining power, the power to sit down and bargain in good faith for a contract with Duke,” says out-going union co-chair Anita Simha, who studies ecology.

This week, about 2,500 PhD students from Duke University who serve as research or graduate assistants and are compensated for their work will receive ballots in the mail to vote on whether to form a union.

The outcome of the election will be determined by a simple majority of those who return mail-in ballots by Aug. 22. Union supporters say they hope to win by a landslide.

PhD students fight for cost-of-living increases, healthcare and worker protections

Unlike undergraduate students, many PhD students receive tuition waivers and spend more of their time teaching and doing lab research for the university than they do taking classes. Those students get paid with living stipends, but without a contract.

Duke did not make an administrator available to WUNC for an interview for this story. In a written statement, Frank Tramble, Vice President for Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs said:

“Duke supports the right of doctoral students to debate unionization and encourages them to vote in the election. The administration believes Duke’s relationship with our students is centered on education, training and mentorship, making it fundamentally different from that between employer and employee.”

Union supporters say they consider the years they spend teaching undergraduate classes, grading papers or conducting research unrelated to their own dissertations to be work.

“We make this university run,” Simha says. “Without PhD students, Duke would not be able to offer the high caliber classes that it does.”

This past year, organizers ramped up their efforts to unionize, scheduling regular walks through labs and offices to talk to fellow students about unionizing.

“If I ask, what issues are you concerned about when it comes to work, the number one thing I've heard is my rent has gone up by maybe $500 a month or something ridiculous,” Simha says.

The union sent a survey to PhD students asking about their top issues, and students responded with concerns about the cost-of-living, work restrictions on international students, and the need for comprehensive healthcare plans.

“We heard about healthcare a lot, especially dental and vision, and spousal and child healthcare,” Simha says. “Something a lot of people don't realize about grad students is that a lot of us are in our 30s and 40s and have families.”

The Duke Graduate Student Union has pushed for a $40,000 annual stipend. The university raised students’ stipends to $38,000 last fall after students announced the membership drive.

Union members also flooded administrators’ inboxes with emails asking for a reduction in parking fees, and got that too. Out-going union co-chair Matthew Thomas says they still want the ability to bargain.

“Getting collective bargaining rights allows us to not only get these things that we've won as a direct-join union, but to actually enforce them, and not just ask for things, but actually negotiate for them,” Thomas says.

This generation of PhD students has been energized by union wins at other universities, and by high profile unionization efforts at Starbucks and Amazon.

“Not only will we be the first recognized graduate student union in the South, but we'd also be one of the largest unions in North Carolina,” Thomas says.

Legal analyst says Duke’s strategy has been to ‘Delay, delay, delay.’

Jeff Hirsch, a labor law professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, has been watching this trend as graduate students at several private universities have recently won elections.

“By grossly lopsided margins,” Hirsch says. “Margins I have never seen before. So, it'll be really interesting what happens in this election.”

Hirsch says he’s been keenly interested in the efforts at Duke since it’s in his own backyard.

“It's just hard to unionize in the South,” Hirsch says, citing a long history of anti-union legislation limiting public and private sector unionization in southern states in laws that often originated during the Civil Rights Movement. North Carolina has the second-lowest rate of unionization in the country, at 3.9%, behind only South Carolina.

Hirsch says so far Duke University's main strategy has been to: “delay, delay, delay.”

“That's what a lot of employers do,” Hirsch says. “Delay is a killer for unions.”

One of the ways Duke has delayed union efforts already was by objecting to the students’ petition for an election by arguing they are not workers, challenging an established precedent set by the National Labor Relations Board in 2016. The university lost its challenge, as anticipated by observers like Hirsch.

The delay caused by that challenge pushed the union vote from spring into summer, when many students are not in Durham – or even abroad on research trips. Students who are eligible to vote will receive paper ballots in the mail and must return them in less than a month.

Hirsch says those kind of delay tactics could continue, even if the union wins its election.

“Duke has multiple opportunities to drag things out for potentially years,” Hirsch says. “Duke could say, ‘You know what, we're going to refuse to bargain.’”

That could turn into a legal battle in federal court, but Hirsch says that might also hurt Duke’s image as a high-profile university.

“They're not just your average sort of manufacturing company [that] no one has ever heard of," Hirsch said. "They can face public relations pressures, more than your average employer from a lot of different constituencies.”

Hirsch says the only way he foresees Duke changing its strategy is if the university’s attitude toward unionization affects its public persona in the eyes of alumni, donors or future students.

“If they were to change their stance at all, in any meaningful way, it would likely be because of something like that — any sort of risk to their brand,” Hirsch says.

It’s also possible, at any point, that the university could simply agree to recognize the union and start to bargain.

“Duke has not taken that path,” says student Matthew Thomas. “But we really do hope that Duke does take that path, because they still have the option to. There's still time — and we intend to win our election.”

PhD Student Unionization

On November 28, 2023, a ballot counting determined a majority of eligible Emory PhD students voted in favor of being represented by Workers United-SEIU, with a total of 909 ballots cast in favor of unionization and 73 against. The voter turnout was approximately 60 percent of eligible PhD students.  The election was certified by the NLRB on December 6.

Emory acknowledges and respects the outcome of the vote, and we are committed to engaging in good faith bargaining with the Union as the representative of the PhD students, in line with our mission, vision, and values.

You can learn more about the SEIU here .

General Information about Unions

What is a union.

A union is an organized association of workers, usually in a particular trade, formed to negotiate with employers over matters related to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.

What does it mean for a union to be “certified”?

What are union dues and how are they calculated.

Unions are organizations, funded exclusively by their members through membership dues and initiation fees. The Union has determined that students will pay 1.5% of their gross pay towards dues, with a maximum of $11.53 per week or $50 per month.

Are members of the bargaining unit required to pay dues to the union?

Georgia has a “right-to-work” law, which means individuals represented by a union cannot be forced to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of continued employment. Represented individuals who do not join the union or pay dues are, however, still exclusively represented by the union   and would have to abide by the terms contained in any collective bargaining agreement.    Students who are not members of the union cannot deal directly with Emory or LGS about matters related to the bargaining agreement, and they are bound by the terms contained in any collective bargaining agreement.

Many public/state universities have unions. Will Emory's experience mirror theirs?

Who is the seiu, about bargaining units, what is a bargaining unit.

In an employment setting, a “bargaining unit” is a group of employees who have common terms and conditions of employment that the union seeks to organize as one group. A union negotiates on behalf of the bargaining unit to establish collective terms and conditions of employment, such as salary and benefits. Bargaining units can be small, representing a sub-section or smaller group of employees, or they can be large.

Once a bargaining unit is defined, can it be changed?

Yes, but this doesn't occur frequently. If the union and the employer agree to change the bargaining unit, then it can be changed. The bargaining unit can also change if either the union or the employer files a “unit clarification petition,” which is a formal request that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) revise the parameters of the certified bargaining unit. Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, the union initially proposed a bargaining unit when it filed its election petition with the NLRB, and the NLRB certifies an appropriate bargaining unit.

Collective Bargaining

How does collective bargaining work, who would sit at the bargaining table.

Representatives of both the University and the union will sit at the bargaining table. On the University's side, labor relations professionals, administrators, and faculty members will likely participate. On the other side, the union would pick its own bargaining team, which might include PhD student leaders, members, and staff, together with representatives of the union itself.

What do unions bargain for?

SEIU has completed negotiating three collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) for graduate students.  The CBAs outline the terms and conditions of the relationship between the members of the bargaining unit and the university. Click each school to see the CBAs for graduate students at American University , Brandeis University , and Tufts University . Students are encouraged to examine these CBAs carefully to understand the types of terms SEIU has negotiated on behalf of graduate students over the past few years.

Note, however, that in reviewing the CBAs, some differences exist between the laws of the states in which these contracts were negotiated and the law in Georgia. Specifically, because Georgia is a “Right to Work” state, the Union cannot require Emory to “terminate” students who do not join the union or pay dues.  In addition, other schools at which the SEIU has won an election, such as Duke, do not yet have a Collective Bargaining Agreement in place.

How long will collective bargaining negotiations take?

Will doctoral students stipends and benefits increase through union bargaining.

That is unknown. Indeed, all outcomes of bargaining are unknown. It is important to note that the law does not require either a union or management to agree to any contract proposal. The stipend may increase as a result of negotiations, but there is no guarantee.  Other graduate student unions who are also affiliated with SEIU are receiving stipends below Emory’s. For instance, SEIU-affiliated graduate students at American University are receiving a minimum stipend of $25,000. The stipend amounts for SEIU-affiliated graduate students at Tufts University change depending on a student’s program but, at the high end, some students are receiving minimum stipends of $27,560 based on a nine-month appointment. Click each school to see the full provisions covering stipends negotiated by the SEIU at American , Tufts , and Brandeis .

What are current doctoral stipends and benefits?

Current benefits offered to LGS PhD students include the annual stipend , 100% paid health insurance subsidy, tuition (valued at  $23,400  per academic semester in Academic Year 2023-2024), professional development funds, and access to a variety of programs and services offered by LGS.

The average of the four LGS stipends increased by 49% over the last ten years. During the same period, the cumulative inflation rate was 31%. In 2013, LGS transitioned to a 12-month stipend so that students could focus on their education and training throughout the entire year.

Just this past year, the Laney Graduate School increased minimum doctoral stipends by 6% starting this fall 2023. This decision increased minimum stipends from $34,316 to $36,376.

You can view a graph that illustrates this growth from 1989-2024 academic years here .

If an individual student objects to a provision in the labor contract, will she/he/they still be bound by the contract?

Yes. The union represents all PhD students in the bargaining unit. The provisions in the contract it negotiates apply to all unit members.

Would Emory be able to make exceptions to the provisions in the contract to accommodate individual needs or exceptions for students in the bargaining unit?

Not generally. Collective bargaining agreements focus on PhD students as a collective group predominantly over any individual student and his/her/their needs.

In collective bargaining, can the University propose its own provisions?

Must emory or the union reach an agreement with each other, where can i find examples of collective bargaining agreements (cbas) negotiated by the seiu.

These questions and answers reflect multiple sources of information, including information from government websites and information shared by or publicly available at other institutions. All information has been reviewed by Emory University's Office of the General Counsel.

An inside look at graduate student unionization

Stanford Graduate Workers Union (SGWU) organizers continue to advocate for better wages, safety and accountability for graduate student workers, following the union’s creation this summer.

It joins a growing list of unions formed by graduate student workers at American universities and also continues efforts initiated by the Graduate Student Council last year.

The SCWU follows a state-wide trend: 36,000 University of California graduate workers went on strike last year for nearly six weeks — the largest work stoppage at a higher education institution in the United States. Student workers in the California State University system also launched a unionization effort in April.

Unions work to maintain the rights of their members and provide an outlet to advocate for demands from a supervising power. They are a common way to obtain contracts and protection for workers who experience discrimination in the workplace. Outside of higher education, unions also “connect to a larger renewal of the organized labor movement,” said Colin Vanderburg, the unit representative of New York University’s workers union.

According to Kristen Jackson, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in education, a union is vital to ensuring all student workers feel like they have a voice.

“It often feels daunting when you’re an individual student having an issue,” she said. “Having a collective union that specifically navigates pushing for an increase in compensation and other various benefits… you’re strong when it’s not just you.” 

For years, graduate student workers have argued they are unable to earn an adequate living wage . They’ve also expressed concern that the University’s role as an academic institution, an employer and a landlord gives administrators control over nearly every aspect of student lives, which stifles individual advocacy efforts.

“Being in a union [means that] you get to dream up what a safe, fair and equitable Stanford looks and feels like. We get to design that,” Jackson said.

With the recent union formation, graduate students hope to build themselves up without breaking down connections with the University, said Tom Liu, a third-year physics Ph.D. student and head of the GSC Financial Committee.

“When we’re unionizing, we’re not trying to unionize against the ‘faculty’ per se because the faculty are our professors, our advisors, the people that we work with every day, and they could use this union just as much as we do,” Liu said. “We hope that this will better strengthen our relationship with our faculty members or advisors and not hurt [them].”

Although SGWU didn’t publicly launch their unionization campaign until April , union organizers and graduate students had been discussing their concerns over affordability issues “for months and years at this point,” Liu said. 

“We already knew that the vast majority of graduate students wanted this union,” he said. 

Elections were scheduled to begin for graduate students in May on whether they were in favor of representation by United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE) or against unionizing. The UE is a democratic labor union for workers in various sectors across the U.S., both private and public. 

The union organizers reached out to the graduate students and ensured that everybody knew the election dates and how to vote, according to Liu.

The turnout met organizers’ expectations, with approximately 51 percent of graduate students voting , though they initially struggled to get momentum for their movement.

“The primary challenge is being able to reach as many people as possible,” Liu said. “In the beginning, there were only a few people who were part of the main coordinating process. Getting that initial kick and getting it started is always going to be difficult.”

Moving forward, the SGWU has to form a bargaining committee to figure out their bargaining priorities, which can include “better pay, protection from harassment [and] grievance procedure,” Liu said. 

Following the vote to unionize, former president Marc Tessier-Lavigne said in an official announcement that the University “will provide information to our community about the next steps in the bargaining process as it becomes available.”

“We expect to finish [building up the SGWU] by the start of the school year and… hope that the University will engage with us as soon as that,” Liu said.

Though only first starting to plant its roots, the SGWU has discussed diversity at length in committee meetings, according to Liu. SGWU is “looking to have as diverse a bargaining committee as possible, where we have people from every department contribute and… people from every school tell us exactly what issues they’re passionate about,” he said. 

Graduate student worker demands are vast and vary by different workplaces, Jackson said. Lab workers might feel more insecure regarding their environment’s safety while research assistants might be more concerned about inequitable wages.

“We are hoping for higher wages, better compensation for the graduate workers who can’t afford to live here… better conditions for international students, protection from harassment from people from positions of power, better health insurance and — most importantly — a say in the way that the university is run,” Liu said.

Workplace safety expands further than physical health because extensive working hours can also affect a student’s mental health, Jackson said. He added that “expectations for workers” might be set “much higher than what is required of them on paper.”

“So the students who are putting in 10 hours — maybe it’s 20 hours a week — really they’re putting in closer to 50 or 60,” she said.

The combination of unfair working hours and underpayment can leave students on a tightrope when it comes to the cost of living in Silicon Valley, which is known as one of the most expensive places to live in the United States. Many graduate workers feel like the cost of food and rent does not compare to their wages.

“Stanford is our employer, but it’s also our landlord, [especially since] most graduate students live on campus,” Jackson said. “Residential and dining enterprises continue to raise the cost of rent, and it… feels like [that’s] pacing with inflation, but our compensation is not.”

University response

Graduate student unionization efforts are often rejected or neglected by universities, even with the necessary support from students, staff and outside resources.

The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC), for instance, was denied recognition by Indiana University in April 2022 and went on strike in September 2022 to pressure the administration. As updated on their website , the IGWC states that, “IU administration still hasn’t recognized us. The fight for union recognition continues.”

“When university administrations resist unionization campaigns from their workers, it is because their mission differs from ours,” said Casey Patterson Ph.D. ‘23, a former SGWU lead organizer and union representative for the English department. “It shows that their goals are not related to educators’ ability to support student growth. Their goals are related to the growth of the University instead.”

According to organizers, if graduate workers are not given recognition or even the ability to unionize, this can have detrimental effects on student life and increase the impact of issues they already face.

“Without [organization] from workers and students, universities will continue to grow while the quality of student education declines, the high rates of student debt increase and the lives of university workers become less and less sustainable,” Patterson said.

Stanford originally denied SGWU’s request for voluntary recognition in an official email from former president Tessier-Lavigne and former provost Persis Drell in April. However, following the vote, the University showed support for SGWU and said they’re committed to having connections and communication with the SGWU going forward. 

“We look forward to working in good faith with SGWU. As has been our position throughout the election process, we are dedicated to the success of our graduate students and to our education and research mission. These commitments will continue to guide us,” Tessier-Lavigne and Drell said in a July message regarding union election results.

Luisa Rapport, director of communications and media relations, wrote that the University understands and appreciates the work that graduate students do to keep Stanford running, in a statement to The Daily.

“Stanford deeply values its union-represented populations and is dedicated to fostering positive relationships with all three labor unions at Stanford,” Rapport wrote. “Stanford’s graduate students make valuable contributions to the University’s teaching and research mission.”

Suhani Chadha is a high school student who participated in The Daily's 2023 High School Journalism Workshop. Zoraya King is a high school student who participated in The Daily's 2023 High School Summer Workshop.

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Next Steps for Implementing the Graduate Student Union Contract (Faculty and Staff Message)

Dear faculty and staff,

We write today to provide an update on the first collective bargaining agreement between Northwestern and the graduate student union (NUGW-UE). We would also like to express our gratitude for your continued engagement during this process.

Since NUGW-UE ratified the contract on March 15, many of you have sought guidance across an array of topics that are included in the agreement. As promised, last week we created a new Union Contract webpage on the graduate student unionization website . We also updated the General FAQs and will continue to refine the entire site.

We do not yet have detailed answers to all your questions, but we want to assure you that coordinated teams of experts from throughout the University, including the impacted schools, are working through these topics and many more. Northwestern will provide guidance on these matters as clearly and as quickly as we are able, either centrally or, when appropriate, through schools and units.

Here are updates on some of the most common issues being raised by faculty and staff:

• The University’s academic expectations remain unchanged. Faculty and staff members can and should continue to engage with their graduate students as they have in the past and hold them to the same academic and performance expectations as before, continuing to facilitate their academic growth. This includes assigning duties, setting work schedules, mentoring, evaluating performance and providing feedback.
• Graduate student funding costs are increasing substantially. These new costs must be absorbed over time through a combination of The Graduate School, school and grant-funded resources. Increased costs before Sept. 1, 2024, including the ratification bonus, new dental and vision benefits, and other new benefits agreed to, will be covered by Northwestern for all eligible University-funded and grant-funded students. Full support for stipends and all other costs will continue to be provided beyond Sept. 1, 2024 for students currently funded through Northwestern.
• For eligible students on current grants , principal investigators may reduce tuition recovery to offset the June 1 increase to the stipend. After Sept. 1, 2024, the cost of graduate students supported by current grants will continue to rise. Northwestern is evaluating options to continue tuition recovery reductions as a temporary offset to these increased costs. Further details, including total cost assumptions for current grants, will be provided in April.
• Principal Investigators should budget the full cost of graduate students for all new grant proposals . Details are housed on the Office of Sponsored Research website .
• The union contract requires Northwestern to issue appointment letters , which generally should be issued at least 30 days before an appointment starts (i.e., before the actual work begins) and contain specific information relevant to the appointment (e.g., TA, RA, etc.) as detailed in the collective bargaining agreement. A work group is refining an approved appointment letter template that meets the contract requirements. Spring appointment letters do not need to be reissued, but all letters should use the template after it has been distributed. In light of this 30-day requirement, timely selection and recording of graduate students’ roles is increasingly important.
• Many faculty now take on the role of supervisor , and the University anticipates providing resources to facilitate this relationship. Generally speaking, faculty supervising graduate student employees’ work should attempt to resolve any grievances informally, if possible, via the consistent application of existing standards and expectations. A work group has formed to create guidance on a formal grievance process that meets the contract requirements. Prior to the rollout of central guidance on the grievance process, any faculty or staff member who receives a formal grievance from NUGW-UE should send it to [email protected] immediately.
• Contract provisions regarding graduate student time off largely track existing practices. When a graduate student employee is sick or has been exposed to infectious illness, time off should not be unreasonably denied. Similarly, graduate student employees should not be unreasonably denied the ability to take personal time off, subject to obligations attendant to their respective appointments. Academic policies related to leave remain unchanged.

Additional information is forthcoming on other topics such as vision and dental insurance enrollment, childcare grants and the international student support fund. It is our goal to facilitate a timely, transparent and respectful transition, and each of us has a role to play in the successful implementation of this contract. Faculty and staff who have questions about new processes, procedures or interpretations of contract language should contact their dean’s office or use the online form . Members of the implementation strategy team monitor this form and respond to inquiries promptly .

While the manner in which we engage some of our graduate students in their work is changing, our commitment to our vibrant graduate student community is unwavering. Thank you for your cooperation and collaboration as we implement the graduate student union contract.

Kathleen Hagerty Provost and Professor 

Kelly Mayo Dean of The Graduate School and Associate Provost for Graduate Education

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Office of the provost, you are here, graduate student union bargaining update.

To: Faculty and Graduate Students From: Katherine Baicker, Provost Subject: Graduate Student Union Bargaining Update Date: January 24, 2024

Since May 31, 2023, the University has been bargaining with GSU-UE on a labor contract to support the continued success of all graduate students. There have been 15 bargaining sessions thus far, totaling nearly 90 hours of constructive, good-faith conversations towards our shared goals.

Through these conversations, we’ve made encouraging progress on many important issues, and I wanted to share some updates about the negotiations.

Non-economic proposals

At our first bargaining session in May, GSU-UE presented 19 non-economic proposals, which are proposals related to aspects of employment such as assignment posting, assignment notices, scope of work, health and safety, codification of intellectual property rights, grievance and arbitration processes, and who is in the union. Tentative agreements between the University and the GSU-UE bargaining team have been reached on nearly all non-economic provisions.

Economic proposals

On October 17, negotiations turned to economic proposals, which are proposals related to aspects of employment such as wages, benefits, and time off. The University and GSU-UE have not reached agreements on these provisions but have been holding extensive good-faith conversations.

The union’s initial economic proposals would require approximately $50 million in new University spending in the first year, and included:

Raising the annualized minimum funding for PhD students by 36% compared to last year to $45,000 for 2023–2024 retroactively. The union also proposed that PhD students whose funding level is already above $45,000 be awarded 6% increases retroactively for 2023–2024.

Further raising the annualized minimum funding for PhD students by at least 6% for both the 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 academic years, in addition to the increases above.

Making health, dental, and vision care virtually cost-free for bargaining unit members (benefits that are not available to University faculty or staff). The University already ensures full coverage of individual student health insurance premiums for PhD students.

Substantially increasing childcare benefits, including $5,000 for the birth or adoption of a child, an annual dependent care stipend up to $9,500, additional need-based childcare reimbursements up to $10,000, and additional reimbursements for unplanned costs.

Adding University coverage of 100% of student fees and immigration-related fees.

Negotiations have proceeded through multiple counteroffers. The University’s current offer includes:

Raising the annualized minimum funding for PhD students by 8.1% to $40,000 for 2024–2025 and raising this minimum by 3.5% for 2025–2026 and by 3% for 2026–2027.

Increasing funding by 2% in each of the three years for students whose funding is already above the minimum.

Increasing the current $2,000 childcare stipend to $3,600 and providing adoption assistance.

Additional payments to students for dental wellness, vision wellness, immigration-related fees, transportation assistance, and retirement readiness.

The University is grateful for the union bargaining team’s continued engagement in the process and for the discussions that have occurred at the bargaining table. While we will continue to work collaboratively to meaningfully enhance compensation for graduate students who serve in teaching and research roles for the University, we must also find an agreement that is financially sustainable for the University as a whole.

The University remains deeply committed to robust graduate programs, and this year will spend about $135,000,000 on funding and benefits for our graduate students, in addition to substantial programmatic support and tuition support for PhD students, who do not typically pay tuition to earn their degree.

We look forward to ongoing bargaining discussions and will provide additional updates on negotiations. Our goal remains to reach a collective bargaining agreement that is financially sound for the University’s future and that maintains the University of Chicago as a world-class institution for graduate study. 

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Johns Hopkins graduate students win first union contract

After a nearly year-long negotiation, graduate students at Johns Hopkins University are working under their first union contract — which members ratified last week.

The Teachers and Researchers United group staged protests and signed strike pledges in recent months to push university leaders towards adopting their demands. Both parties reached a tentative agreement on March 29, which union members adopted last Thursday by a 99.5% vote.

“Our asks were really ambitious at the table, but we ended up achieving a contract that everybody felt really well represented by and they were just happy to vote yes for,” said Jayati Sharma, a member of the union’s bargaining committee and a PhD student in epidemiology. “We won more than we thought we could achieve.”

The union, which currently represents more than 3,200 student members, formed in 2023, and has been negotiating its first contract since last May. Johns Hopkins students join a growing wave of graduate unions popping up nationwide.

“We are enormously grateful to the faculty and divisional representatives from across the university who contributed their time, input, and expertise to this effort, as well as to the PhD student workers and union members on the TRU-UE bargaining team who engaged so constructively throughout the bargaining process,” a university spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Sharma said the bargaining committee was at the table with leaders until 8:45 p.m. on March 28. But the end result was worth it, she said.

“There are so many wins, that it is hard to remember them all,” she said.

Sharma said the headliner win is an increase in yearly stipend pay to $47,000 from an average of $33,000, which varies wildly between departments. Graduate workers will start receiving that increased wage on July 1.

The new contract also includes many benefits that union leaders say are “historic firsts” for graduate student unions — like financial support for visa fees, the right to protest without being met by force, and free transit passes in D.C. and Baltimore.

“Hopkins University doesn't really have a great transit system for students and employees,” Sharma said. “So we proposed a simple measure that would rectify that, while also investing resources into the city that we all call home.”

Emily Hoppe, a PhD student in the school of nursing, applauded the union’s wins for parents and caregivers — like up to 12 weeks of paid leave for birthing parents, subsidies for children or adult dependents and a health insurance plan that covers spouses and dependents.

“It just really makes it possible for parents and caregivers to come to the program,” Hoppe said. “If I could have had this with my own child at my previous workplace, it would have made my life much better.”

Andrew Eneim, a biophysics PhD student, has been involved in the union’s organizing efforts for the past four years. He said the union’s commitment to solidarity translated directly to these first-time wins.

“The reason they're historic is because they don't always affect everybody equally,” he said. “And so sometimes that gets lost in the shuffle of trying to achieve some goals. I feel really proud of our members for being willing to fight for things that may not directly affect them.”

Eneim says the work is far from over. Now, the union has to focus on enforcing the new contract — and cementing its own structure by electing leaders.

“I think it's hard to imagine if we kept fighting how much more we could have gotten,” he said. “But that's what the next contract fight is for.”

Hoppe said it’s all about making the contract “mean something more than just the words on the paper.”

“This is not just going to make all of the things that members had concerns about disappear,” she said. “We had to fight hard for the contract that we won. And we're probably going to have to fight for some of the aspects of its enforcement as well.”

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Penn graduate student workers' unionization election begins today after postponement

The University's graduate student workers will head to the polls today to vote on whether to form a union. 

The unionization election will begin Wednesday in Bodek Lounge in Houston Hall. Graduate Employees Together University of Pennsylvania-UAW (GET-UP), a group of graduate teaching and research employees aiming to improve working conditions and strengthen their larger voice at the University, is seeking to bargain for a union contract matching their current needs and gain representation by United Auto Workers . 

If the vote passes, GET-UP will become the largest union at Penn in recent history with about 4,500 workers.

The formation of a union would mean that all graduate student workers would be able to participate in the bargaining process and vote on the ratification of any proposed contract.

Protestors rally to support graduate student workers' unionization effort amid election delays

Over 200 Penn faculty express support for graduate student workers seeking unionization

“This upcoming election is our chance to democratically convey what we already know to be true, which is that Penn graduate workers want a union,” fifth-year biology Ph.D. candidate and GET-UP field coordinator and organizer Luella Allen-Waller told The Daily Pennsylvanian earlier this semester. 

The unionization election was originally scheduled for April 16 and 17 but was suddenly postponed on April 11, just one day after GET-UP won an appeal against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to include Educational Fellowship Recipients in the pool of eligible voters. 

In an April 16 email to graduate and professional students, Provost John Jackson Jr. and Vice Provost for Education Karen Detlefsen wrote that the postponement was due to an April 10 order from the NLRB determining that approximately 300 Ph.D. students should be permitted to vote. The email, which was obtained by the DP, referenced several processes that the newly eligible students must undergo — such as being notified of their right to privacy from the union and NLRB. 

“These 300 students must now be added to the voter list, which must be shared with the NLRB and the UAW," Jackson Jr. and Detlefsen wrote in the email. "There are legal timeframes for these important processes … that could not be met for an election on April 16 and April 17."

A University spokesperson wrote to the DP earlier this month that on April 15, the University and GET-UP agreed to a stipulation rescheduling the election for May.

“We were not expecting there to be a delay,” Allen-Waller said. “When we won that appeal, the fact that [Penn] requested an additional two weeks to get the voter list indicates that they had not begun to prepare for the possibility that we would win that appeal.” 

Fifth-year history Ph.D candidate and GET-UP organizer Sam Schirvar told the DP that an election is “an opportunity for graduate workers to stand up and stand together and show Penn that we want to have a voice in our working conditions” and that possible platforms for the organization include grievance arbitration, costs of child care, accessibility of parental leave, and protection policies against discrimination for graduate students.

Graduate student workers face increasing housing and living costs in Philadelphia, a lack of rights in the workplace, and uncertain futures given the nature of higher education and unstable regulation of visas and work authorization for international student workers, according to GET-UP . 

“There's often a call for higher stipends and an increase in compensation to match the rising cost of living,” Schirvar said. “When a majority of graduate workers vote yes, then the university will be legally obligated to enter into negotiations with us.”

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In October 2023 , graduate students seeking to form a union filed 3,000 authorization cards with the NLRB, but the University subsequently refused to voluntarily recognize the union. In March, GET-UP released a bargaining survey asking graduate workers to indicate their priorities for including various working conditions, wages, and benefits in a contract. 

Earlier this month, 224 Penn faculty members expressed their support for graduate student workers seeking unionization by signing a supporting statement drafted by the American Association of University Professors . 

“We have every intention to win our election on May 1 and 2,” fifth-year pharmacology Ph.D. candidate and GET-UP organizer Kyla Mace wrote to the DP. Ballots will be counted and results will be announced on May 3. 

The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.

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Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please contact us or get in touch with a tru representative in your department, who is a member of tru-ue and what are union dues.

All graduate students enrolled in University PhD programs who are employed to provide instructional or research services, including teaching assistants, research assistants, and fellows are covered by this contract. 

Specific exclusions are listed at the end of this document and in the Recognition article of the tentative agreement.

How do I become a member of TRU-UE Local 197? 

To become a current member of the Union, you must sign a membership card and pay monthly membership dues. The easiest way to do this is to fill out a digital membership/dues authorization form . You must be a member to participate in the ratification vote. 

If you were previously a member, to become a current member, you must sign a new digital membership card . 

I am currently paying dues to TRU-UE Local 197 voluntarily. Do I need to continue paying those voluntary dues? 

We will stop collecting voluntary dues in the near future and institute dues collection as agreed upon in the tentative agreement.

What are union dues? 

Dues fund a strong union that can win better wages, benefits, and working conditions. Union dues go directly to TRU-UE Local 197 and the UE national and regional unions to fund the training, support, materials, staff and other resources we need to maintain an independent, democratic, rank-and-file union.

How much are union dues for TRU-UE Local 197? 

Union dues are 1.44% of our gross compensation. All research assistants, teaching assistants, and fellows enrolled in JHU PhD programs who receive the full benefits and protections of the contract are required to either pay dues as union members with voting privileges or else pay equivalent agency fees to cover the costs of collective bargaining and contract enforcement. Our union sets the amount for both dues and agency fees to be 1.44% of our pay. 

What are dues collected by TRU-UE used for?

Two-thirds (⅔) of collected dues go to UE national, who have helped us organize and bargain our contract. UE uses these dues to support organizing at other workplaces as well as for resources for UE locals such as access to a labor lawyer. The remaining one-third (⅓) of dues will remain with us at TRU. While it will ultimately be up to our membership to decide what we use dues for, similar locals have set up hardship funds, rented office space, and are saving for future strike funds.

Do I have to pay dues? 

If you are covered by our contract, you can either become a member of TRU-UE Local 197 and pay dues or, if you choose not to become a member, pay an agency fee to the Union. This fee, which is authorized by federal law, is equivalent to union dues and covers your fair share of supporting our effort to bargain collectively with our employer and improve and defend our working conditions. Non-member fee-payers forego all rights and benefits of union membership. Non-members can sign up to pay monthly fees through payroll deduction here .  Importantly, becoming a member of the union gives you the right to vote in union elections, run for union officer and steward positions, vote at General Membership Meetings (GMMs), and participate in the decision-making and democracy of our union. Only union members are eligible to vote. We strongly encourage all Hopkins PhD workers to become active members in our union!

How can I pay my dues? 

The most convenient way to pay dues is by signing up for payroll deduction using the digital membership/dues authorization form . By filling out this form, your dues will automatically be deducted from your paycheck and forwarded to the Union.

If you would prefer not to use this convenient method of automatic payment, you may pay your dues directly to TRU-UE Local 197 on a monthly basis.

When will dues start being collected?

We will begin collecting dues shortly after the contract is ratified. We will send out an email informing you of dues collection 4 weeks prior to the first dues collection. Deduction will not start before the stipend increases.

I have questions about union membership, dues, or agency fees. Who should I ask? 

You can send us an email at [email protected] .

Who is excluded from the bargaining unit?

The following groups are excluded from the unit: 

• undergraduate students
• master’s students
• non-degree seeking graduate students at JHU 
• postdoctoral fellows
• students who receive no compensation, wages, or paid healthcare benefits from the University
• students who have full-time appointments as faculty or staff at the University
• office clericals, managers, guards, and supervisors

Should I sign a card if I’m about to graduate?

Yes! Grad workers in the bargaining unit have 60 days after the day our agreement was signed (March 29) to sign up for financial contribution to the union. If you’re still going to be around, you should definitely sign! If you graduate before dues deduction starts (sometime after July 1), you won’t be charged. 

What is TRU-UE and what is a graduate worker union?

What is TRU-UE?

We are a union of graduate student workers at JHU known as Teachers and Researchers United-United Electrical Workers (TRU-UE). We are made up of over 2,000 members from departments across campus who perform teaching and research labor at Johns Hopkins. We believe that many issues individual graduate students face at the university can best be solved through collective improvements negotiated and solidified through a contract with the university. We are currently negotiating our first contract.

Why do we need a graduate student union?

A union gives us a seat at the table, allowing for graduate student workers to negotiate collectively and ensure that everybody benefits from these improvements regardless of department and immigration status. Our graduate student union is working to secure better research conditions for grads across the university, including but not limited to:

• Living Wages for All
• Guaranteed On-Time Payment
• Improved Support for International Students
• Safe and Reliable Transportation & Workspaces
• Effective Grievance Procedures
• A Commitment to the City of Baltimore

You can read more about our platform here .

What is a union contract?

A union contract is a binding legal document that is negotiated between an employer and a group of employees that creates a required standard of compensation, benefits, and working conditions. This process is legally protected and the employer is required to abide by the terms of the contract. A union contract can set minimum levels of compensation, limits on required work hours, and other needs that graduate workers negotiate collectively! This contract will be ratified by all the graduate students who will be covered by it.

How will a union help my research?

We formed a graduate student union to remove barriers to research at JHU. We need reliable access to the tools that allow us to do our research, such as equipment for performing work, reliable transportation options to get to work, and safe buildings to perform that research. A living wage will also allow students to focus on their research without being burdened by concerns about having enough to cover their bills. Our working conditions are our research conditions and improving both are necessary to remove the barriers we face and allow our research to thrive.

How did we form a graduate student union?

There are four basic steps in building a graduate student union. 

• Build an Organizing Committee
• Collect Union Cards and submit petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
• Once the petition is accepted, turn up to the polls for the union election
• Negotiate a contract that must be ratified by the majority of grad students at JHU.

To learn more about the NLRB process, click here .

What have other graduate student unions been able to win?

Graduate student workers at other institutions have successfully negotiated a variety of improvements: better wages and benefits, increased access to workspace/materials, establishing fair processes for stopping sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and microaggressions; and guaranteed short and long-term leaves.

Read more details about what graduate student unions have been able to win:

• Compilations of some grad union wins can be found here and here .
• MITGSU’s bargaining progress can be tracked on their website .
• Harvard’s graduate student union secured major wins in their latest contract .
• Columbia secured their first union contract which laid out significant improvements to their research conditions!

Why can’t we secure these improvements with the existing mechanisms?

Graduate students over many years have attempted to secure these improvements through the existing channels, including spending our time and energy in our department-level advocacy groups, on various committees with administrators, and within the Graduate Representative Organization, Graduate Student Association, Student Assembly, etc. Our experience with these institutional mechanisms is the reason we knew that we must pursue unionization. Many graduate students on these committees have had their ideas stalled, been told they’re asking for too much, and been given an endless list of other excuses for why JHU will not grant us what we need to conduct research effectively and live dignified lives. Without a union, the university has the final say for all changes to our research conditions. It is only through a union that we claim that power back as we do the work that makes Hopkins run!

Clarifications of Contract Details:

Do I have to log my hours?

Nope! If you do begin a grievance, it might be useful to log your hours, but the union is not attempting to require you to log your hours.

How do we define what our job is?

The union’s contract does not define exactly what you are responsible for as a student, researcher, or teacher. The contract does set guidelines so that when the administration offers you a job, they must be up front and transparent about the work you’re responsible for, how much you’re paid, and provide you with the necessary resources to complete the tasks assigned. Anything within this counts towards the 20-hour work week.

Any work that is not on the contract you agree to is not your job, and the employer cannot ask you to do it.

Why is policing a union issue?

Since the union’s foundation, our membership has actively opposed the militarization of Hopkins campuses, as both a safety concern in itself and as an excuse to not spend money on better ways of improving the safety of graduate workers. Our union’s strength depends on our ability to organize and pressure the administration when they don’t move on issues that are important to us. We can do this more flexibly in the absence of an armed private police under the sole control of the university. 

What does it mean to have a commitment to the city of Baltimore?

It means that Johns Hopkins exists within the city of Baltimore, derives labor from its residents, extracts value from its land through gentrification projects and not paying property taxes, and in other ways, intentional and not, affects the conditions of the city and its residents. Hopkins will always have a relationship with the city of Baltimore through its physical presence in the city, and through its economic position as one of the biggest employers in Baltimore. Therefore, it must earnestly commit to engaging in this relationship in a way that is beneficial rather than detrimental to the Baltimore community, and we as employees of Hopkins must be part of this change.

Joining Teachers and Researchers United – UE (TRU-UE)

I’m interested in getting involved, where do I start?

Great! First, sign your union card here . To get in touch with an organizer in your department, reach out to your representative here or send us an email at [email protected] so we can tell you more about the campaign and answer any additional questions you have! We have graduate student workers performing lab/office walkthroughs talking to people in departments across the university, participating in various committees, and chatting one on one with their colleagues about building a grad student union that works for all of us!

What does signing a union card mean?

Signing your union card means you want to become a member of Teachers and Researchers United (TRU-UE), the union for all graduate student workers at JHU. Signing your card means that you stand with your colleagues in demanding a living wage for all, guaranteed on-time payment, improved support for international students, safe and reliable facilities & transportation, fair grievance procedures, and a commitment to the city of Baltimore. Card signers participate in our union’s democratic processes, from electing our bargaining committee to voting on our contract proposals.

I have more questions, how can I get them answered?

Great! We have organizers in almost every department and division across the university, so there’s probably someone you know who’d be happy to talk more about TRU with you and any of your questions, issues, or concerns. Just email us at [email protected] with your name, and someone will be in touch soon!    

Will I ever have to go on strike?

As long as JHU bargains with us in good faith, we will not have to go on strike. A key motivation in having a majority of graduate student workers signing union cards is that such a show of solidarity encourages JHU to recognize our union without contest. In that case, we would not need to go on strike. Half of all private university graduate student unions have never had to authorize a strike. 

At the same time, it is important to recognize that our labor is our most powerful bargaining chip. Through our labor in research, teaching, and other activities, we generate significant value to JHU. We can send a powerful message to JHU if we withhold that labor: JHU works because we do. Additionally, strikes can vary in form and specific strikes around teaching and other services, rather than research activities, can be a critical way of demonstrating the amount of labor we put into the University. The decision to strike is never made lightly. A strike requires a supermajority vote of all grad-workers (this is called a strike authorization vote). This means a supermajority of graduate student workers have decided that JHU is not negotiating in good faith with our union and a strike is necessary. Our union will never require any worker to strike, but if we decide to strike, we are most powerful when we stand united. 

Know Your Rights

Who is allowed to participate in a union?

If you are receiving a paycheck from JHU in exchange for work related to research assistantships or teaching assistantships, you are a worker and therefore eligible to be part of TRU. Most broadly, this includes anyone who is currently working as a graduate student (PhD) in one of the divisions of JHU (including Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Whiting School of Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, School of Medicine, School of Nursing and School of Education). If you have questions about the legal constraints on union eligibility, please reach out!

Are international students eligible to be in a union?

YES! International workers enjoy the same legal rights to participate in organizing efforts as citizens/legal residents. Visa requirements in no way compromise your right to join a graduate advocacy group for your U.S. workplace. International student workers have participated in organizing graduate unions across the U.S in great numbers, including within TRU already. Any threat that organizing for a union could compromise legal status is not only wrong, it is illegal! For more information on international student workers and their rights to unionize, please see our page for international grad workers .

Can the university retaliate against me for being involved in a union?

NO! Any form of retaliation for union activity/involvement is illegal per the National Labor Relations Act. Graduate student workers have the right to support and participate in union organizing at work. The university cannot fire, discipline, or otherwise discriminate against you in any way. Additionally, you cannot be asked about your opinion on support or whether you are participating in TRU. Further, you cannot be threatened with any changes to your compensation, benefits, or other conditions for participation in a union.

Potential Impacts

How will stipend increases be paid for? Will my advisor have to take less students?

Currently, JHU takes approximately half of all grant money that enters the institution through the PIs. Other institutions have reduced the amount taken from PIs for “overhead” to allow for stipend increases to match the cost of living. Additionally, as of June 2023, Johns Hopkins had the twentieth largest endowment of any U.S. university, valued at $10.5 billion. The JHU endowment includes  $2.6 billion of unrestricted reserves  available to offset the rising cost of living. Plus over the past year alone, JHU had a  $414 million budget surplus . This adds to a  $600 million surplus  over the last three years, including the early pandemic (FYs 2020–22). In short, Hopkins can afford it!

Won’t being involved in TRU’s efforts harm my relationship with my advisor/PI?

We’re building a union to remove barriers to conducting our research! Removing these barriers will allow us to get more done by improving the conditions we do our work under. It is for exactly this reason that the advisor-mentee relationship should remain unchanged with a union. In addition, part of our platform includes effective grievance procedures to resolve disputes between advisors and mentees, as well as codify our access to vacation time and work hours so graduate student workers are able to maintain a healthy work-life balance that allows us to thrive!

Ph.D. Students

Olusola Adegbite Field of Study : New Testament

Tony Amoury Alkhoury Field of Study : Religion and Education/Practical Theology

Sumlut Ban Htang Field of Study : Systematic Theology / Social Ethics

Chanmi Byun Field of Study: Psychology and Religion

Winfield Goodwin Field of Study: Philosophy of Religion

Hilly Haber Field of Study: Social Ethics

Christiaan Jacob Faul Field of Study : Hebrew Bible

Moses Shanthi Kumar Bollam John Field of Study : Practical Theology; Homiletics

Neonu Jewell Field of Study : Interreligious Engagement

Miya Lee Field of Study : Hebrew Bible

(David) Wei Liu Field of Study : New Testament

Kelly Maeshiro Field of Study : Theology (Ethics); Philosophy

Dörte Mohme Field of Study : New Testament

Esther Parajuli Field of Study : Systematic Theology

Thelma Ranjitsingh Field of Study : Practical Theology/New Testament

Poonam Rai Field of Study : Systematic Theology; Social Ethics

Anthony Jermaine Ross-Allam Field of Study : Social Ethics

Arvind Theodore Field of Study :  Social Ethics

Adam Vander Tuig Field of Study : Practical Theology

Adulin Prophete Field of Study : New Testament

Irene Preetha Prasannakumar Field of Study : Theology

Xian’an (Jing) Lin Field of Study : Practical Theology

Xian’ai (Aiping) Cao Field of Study : Practical Theology

Caroline Park Field of Study : Hebrew Bible

Zachary Royal Field of Study : Theology and Ethics

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Protesting University of Alaska graduate students call for union contract after judge bars strike

University of Alaska graduate student workers protest in support of a contract in Fairbanks on Monday, April 29, 2024. (Photo provided by Alaska Graduate Workers Association)

Hundreds of University of Alaska graduate students protested in marches on Monday at the Fairbanks and Anchorage campuses to increase pressure on the university system as it negotiates a contract with their union.

The marches are a step down from a strike the Alaska Graduate Workers Association planned, after a Fairbanks Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order on Friday at the request of the University system.

Student employees say the marches come as their window to negotiate closes. The state’s Legislature must approve any agreement made between the students and the state-run university and only two weeks remain until the session adjourns, union member Isabel Olazar said.

“The deadline is rapidly approaching, which is why the union feels the need to ramp up action,” she said.

University of Alaska director of public affairs Jonathon Taylor said the university system also wants to reach an agreement soon.

“It certainly would be the university’s preference that we’re able to reach an agreement in time for the monetary terms to be included for this budget cycle for this fiscal year,” he said.

But Taylor disagreed with the union that this week is a deadline for negotiations.

“There are still other ways for funding and monetary terms to be considered,” he said. “A couple of years ago, we were unfortunately not able to reach a contract with one of our bargaining units in time for inclusion in the legislative session and there was retroactivity language included in that contract so that that could be funded.”

Taylor emphasized that the university is negotiating in good faith. Its bargaining team worked over the weekend and recently put in 12-hour days to come to an agreement, he said. He added that labor negotiations typically take more than a year; bargaining between the university and its student employees began three months ago.

The students voted to unionize in October.

Last week, the nascent union issued an ultimatum to the university that it must ratify a final contract by Monday or face a graduate student worker union strike, according to court filings. The university system said it became aware of the strike plan through social media and a news release. It asked the court to prevent a strike because the union lacked the legal prerequisite to do so lawfully: Negotiations between the union and the university have not reached an impasse.

The workers’ demonstration comes as the University of Alaska Fairbanks pushes to increase its graduate student population in an effort to become a top-tier research university . To be rated among the top 4% of the nation’s research institutions, it must double its Ph.D. student count.

For Carter Freymiller, a research assistant pursuing his master’s degree, increased wages and a fair contract are critical in his decision to continue his graduate work in the state. He said he will likely wait on his doctoral studies if the university can fire workers at will.

“It is unfortunate that if this doesn’t happen, that I wouldn’t be able to pursue a Ph.D. here. Or it would be very challenging. And I would love to be able to do that,” he said. “We’re not really given a livable wage. At least, it’s very hard to live here on this salary — and I just live in a dry cabin.”

Increased wages and job security are two of the main sticking points in ongoing negotiations. The union and the university are scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday for continued bargaining.

Originally published by the Alaska Beacon , an independent, nonpartisan news organization that covers Alaska state government.

Dartmouth graduate student workers strike; Clash with administrators over pay and health care

Graduate student workers at Dartmouth College, part of the GOLD-UE union, began striking Wednesday morning.

“Dartmouth has the opportunity to end this strike,” said Logan Mann, an engineering graduate student at the college. “At any time by simply using their enormous wealth to support the workers who produce their research and teach their classes.”

Mann is part of the union bargaining committee. He said both sides were at the negotiating table Tuesday night, but it didn’t get anywhere, so with overwhelming support, the workers went on strike.

Their picket line will be marching on the Dartmouth Green every day until the two sides can reach an agreement.

“We're out here to demand a living wage. Cost-of-living adjustment is tied to rent in the Upper Valley, dental insurance, child care and much, much more,” Mann said.

The Graduate Organized Laborers of Dartmouth was officially founded last year and represents over 800 graduate teachers and researchers on the Ivy League campus.

Ever since the founding, organizers have been negotiating a new contract with the college’s administration for an increase in wages brought from $40,000 per year to $53,000.

The union representatives said two-thirds of graduate student members are rent-burdened and need better health care benefits.

“We're really eager to get back to the classroom and back to the labs,” Mann said. “We truly love our job, and that's the reason we're out. We want to be able to do our job under conditions that lift all of us up and make sure that we're all safe, healthy, housed, fed.”

The Dartmouth provost, David Kotz, issued letters to students and faculty to address the ongoing situation.

“To date, we have reached 18 tentative agreements and addressed each of their proposals, often multiple times,” Kotz wrote. “We have listened to graduate students' concerns, as expressed by GOLD-UE, and offered solutions that we hoped would reach the widest number of graduate students possible while balancing the needs of our broader community.”

On the green Wednesday, some other student workers on campus showed their support for the grad students.

“We hope the Gold strike will show not only the visibility of graduate students, but the inherent value that they bring to our campus, how integral they are in its functioning,” said Hosaena Tilahun. “Whether they show up as teaching assistants, mentors to undergraduates and just members of the broader Dartmouth and Hanover community.”

The two parties have another planned bargaining session scheduled for Friday.

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Public Affairs

April 30, 2024.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 30, 2024

University of Alaska and graduate student union reach tentative 3-year contract agreement

(FAIRBANKS) — The University of Alaska administration has reached a tentative initial agreement on a three-year contract with the Alaska Graduate Workers Association (AGWA), the newly formed union representing graduate student employees. The contract terms are July 1, 2024, through December 31, 2026. 

“Throughout these negotiations, our goal has been to support graduate students through fair compensation increases while ensuring the contract is financially sustainable,” said UA President Pat Pitney . “I’m incredibly grateful for the hard work put in over the last several days that allowed us to reach an agreement. We look forward to submitting it for legislative consideration this session.”

Thanks in part to UA’s bargaining team working 12-hour days over the weekend, the initial contract was TA’d in just 96 days, well under the national average of 465 days .

Notable monetary terms include:

• Increasing minimum pay for masters students by 14% to $24.50/hour, and 17% to $29.00 for Ph.D. students. The increases put UA’s compensation for graduate and Ph.D. students in the top ⅓ of our peers.
• 100% fee waivers for bargaining unit members .
• Extended facilities access at UAF .
• Time Off - 3 weeks of unpaid family leave and up to 20 hours (4-day equivalent) of scheduled leave per semester.
• Modified grievance procedures.
• Continued health insurance coverage and bargaining unit input in future changes. UA currently pays 100% of graduate student employee health insurance premiums, and the cost for the exact same coverage jumped $400,000 for Academic Year 2025, which the University is covering and not passing on to graduate students.

Once ratified and funded, the agreement will apply to all graduate student workers who meet eligibility criteria at all three of UA’s universities: the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), and the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS). The UA System houses 23 Ph.D. programs, over 60 master’s degree programs, and over two dozen post-baccalaureate certificate programs. Graduate Schools are based at UAA and UAF, and graduate students also attend programs at UAS.

“Our bargaining team has worked tirelessly - particularly over the last week - to reach an agreement. I want to sincerely thank and recognize them for their willingness to go the extra mile on behalf of our graduate student employees and the University,” President Pitney said.

Graduate research has a major impact on Alaska and our University, and the work of graduate students will play a key role in UAF’s goal of becoming an R1 research university. UA takes immense pride in nurturing an environment that prioritizes our graduate students' academic and personal growth. The contract reflects that graduate students are critical members of our academic community, and the University genuinely cares about their ideas and input.

The next steps include approval by the University Board of Regents, the Department of Administration, and ratification of the contract by AGWA bargaining unit members. The request will then be submitted to the legislature for funding approval this session.

For more information, contact Jonathon Taylor, director of public affairs at 907-350-0168 (cell), or via email at [email protected] . 

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Here’s Where Protesters on U.S. Campuses Have Been Arrested

A crackdown on demonstrators at Columbia University in New York spawned a wave of activism at universities across the country, with more than 1,600 arrests.

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By Anna Betts

• May 1, 2024

Police officers and university administrators have clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters on a growing number of college campuses across the country in recent days, arresting students, removing encampments and threatening academic consequences.

The fresh wave of student activism against the war in Gaza was sparked by the arrest of at least 108 protesters at Columbia University on April 18, after administrators appeared before Congress and promised a crackdown. Since then, police interventions on several campuses, including in some of America’s largest cities, have led to more than 1,600 arrests.

Campus protests where arrests have taken place since April 18

Note: Data as of 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on May 1

By Leanne Abraham, Bora Erden, Lazaro Gamio, Helmuth Rosales, Julie Walton Shaver and Anjali Singhvi

Here is where arrests have been reported as the authorities try to break up protests or encampments:

Columbia University : The New York City Police Department arrested 108 demonstrators while clearing an encampment at the Manhattan campus on April 18. On Tuesday, police officers in riot gear arrested 109 protesters and cleared a building that demonstrators had occupied for nearly a day.

Yale University in New Haven, Conn.: The police arrested 48 people on April 22, including 44 Yale students, after they refused to leave an encampment on campus.

New York University in Manhattan: Officers made dozens of arrests late April 22 after students occupied a plaza on campus.

University of Minnesota in Minneapolis: Nine people were taken into custody after they erected an encampment on April 23. All of those affiliated with the university were allowed back on campus and civil trespass warnings were “set aside.”

University of South Carolina in Columbia: Two students were arrested after a protest on April 23, according to a police report.

University of Southern California in Los Angeles: The police arrested 93 people at a demonstration on the afternoon of April 24.

University of Texas at Austin : The police arrested 57 protesters on April 24. A spokeswoman for the county attorney’s office said charges against many had been dropped after the office found legal “deficiencies” in their arrests. On April 29, 79 people were arrested and held on misdemeanor charges, mostly for trespassing, according to a county jail spokeswoman. One was charged with interfering with public duties.

Emerson College in Boston: The police arrested 118 people as an encampment was cleared on the night of April 24, the authorities said.

Ohio State University in Columbus: A university official said that 36 people, including 16 students, were arrested on April 25. Earlier that week, two students were arrested during an on-campus demonstration, university officials said.

Emory University in Atlanta: At least 28 people were arrested on April 25, an Emory official said; 20 had ties to the school.

Indiana University Bloomington : On April 25, the university police said 33 people were removed from an encampment and taken to jail. There were 23 more arrests on April 27, the police said.

Princeton University in New Jersey: Two graduate students were arrested after pitching tents on April 25. On April 29, a group of protesters briefly occupied Clio Hall, home of the graduate school. School officials said that 13 people were arrested, including five undergraduates, six graduate students, one postdoctoral researcher and one person not affiliated with the university. No one was hurt during the incident, they added.

University of Connecticut in Storrs: Campus police officers removed at least one tent from a rally on April 25 and took at least one person into custody, a university official said. On Tuesday morning, campus police officers entered the pro-Palestinian encampment on campus to “remove the tents and tarps and to arrest those who refused compliance,” officials said. That evening, school officials confirmed that 25 protesters were arrested, 24 of them students and one former student. All were charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt : Last week, protesters occupied two buildings on the campus in Arcata, Calif., university officials said. Three people were arrested there last week. On Tuesday morning, police arrested 25 more protesters and ended the eight-day occupation of an administration building that had forced a campus shutdown. Later that night, campus police arrested an additional 32 people , including 13 students and one faculty member, the school said.

Auraria Campus in Denver: About 40 people were arrested on April 26 at a campus that houses facilities for the University of Colorado Denver, the Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Community College of Denver, the campus police said.

University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign : Social media posts on April 26 showed police officers detaining at least one person and taking down an encampment.

Arizona State University in Tempe: A university official said 69 people were arrested early in the morning on April 27 after protesters set up an encampment. Three people were also arrested on April 26.

Northeastern University in Boston: University officials said , citing an official police report, that 98 people were arrested on April 27, including 29 students and six faculty and staff members.

Washington University in St. Louis: On April 27, 100 arrests were made and the campus was locked down, according to a university statement. The presidential candidate Jill Stein was among those arrested.

University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va.: The university president’s office said that 12 people, including nine students, were arrested on the evening of April 27.

Virginia Tech: University officials said on April 29 that 82 protesters, 53 of which are students, were arrested and charged with trespassing.

Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond: On April 29, officials said officers from the campus police, along with local and state police, broke up a protest with riot gear and pepper spray. Administrators said protesters “threw objects and used chemical spray on officers” before 13 people, including six students, were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing.

Tulane University in New Orleans: Six people were arrested on April 29 and charged with offenses including trespassing and resisting arrest after they “stormed university property and erected tents” on campus officials said. Administrators said that suspensions were also being issued but did not say how many students were involved. On Tuesday, six people were arrested and seven students were suspended for participating in an unlawful demonstration, the university said , and at least 14 more were arrested Wednesday morning, including two students.

University of Florida in Gainesville: Officials said that police officers arrested nine protesters, including six students, who they said refused to comply with orders to disperse on the evening of April 29.

University of Utah: Nineteen protesters were arrested on the night of April 29, school officials said , adding that officers removed and dismantled about a dozen tents. Of those arrested, four were students, one was a university employee and 14 were unaffiliated with the university, school officials said. They added that two police officers suffered mild injuries.

University of Georgia in Athens: Officials said that on the morning of April 29, 16 protesters were arrested and charged with trespassing, nine of which were students.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: The university police detained 36 protesters, school officials said, after they were given until 6 a.m. on Tuesday to clear out or face possible arrest, suspension or even expulsion. Of those, 30 people, including 10 current university students, were cited for trespassing and released. Six more, including three students, were booked on trespassing charges at the county jail.

University of South Florida : School officials said that three protesters were arrested during a protest on April 29, including one student, one employee and one individual who is not affiliated with the school. On Tuesday night, campus police confirmed that 10 more individuals were taken into custody, and police stated that they found one of the individuals arrested was carrying a concealed firearm.

University of New Mexico : Sixteen protesters were arrested on April 29, including five students, after school officials said they vandalized and refused to vacate a student union building on campus. Officials said the protesters had been ordered to leave the building by the night of April 29 and that failure to comply could lead to arrests.

Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland: Around 20 protesters were detained and released on Monday, a spokesperson for the school said.

Florida State University in Tallahassee: Five protesters, including two current students, were arrested on April 30, school officials said. “The university’s rules and regulations had been explained repeatedly over several days and the group had been compliant until this afternoon,” officials said, adding that the arrests occurred “after the individuals ignored multiple requests and warnings to comply with a lawful order.”

City College of New York in Manhattan: Police officers arrested 173 pro-Palestinian demonstrators at City College of New York in Harlem late Tuesday night.

North Carolina State University in Raleigh: School officials said that one protester was arrested on Tuesday night during a pro-Palestinian protest on campus. The individual is not affiliated with the university, the school said.

University of Arizona in Tucson: Four protesters were arrested late Tuesday night into early Wednesday after law enforcement officials ordered demonstrators to leave an encampment, according to a statement from the university president. Officers used pepper balls and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, he added.

University of Wisconsin, Madison : On Wednesday morning, 34 people were arrested, school officials said. An encampment of protesters on campus, which began on Monday, was dispersed after 7 a.m. Wednesday by university police officers, who were assisted by state and local law enforcement. Four police injuries were reported . A majority of those arrested were released with no citation issued.

Fordham University in New York City: After protesters set up an encampment in an academic building on the university’s Manhattan campus, New York police officers made arrests on Wednesday. The number of arrests they made was not yet clear.

Reporting was contributed by Halina Bennet, Olivia Bensimon , Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs , Robert Chiarito , Jill Cowan , Matthew Eadie , Colbi Edmonds , Jacey Fortin , J. David Goodman , Johnna Margalotti, Bernard Mokam , Erin Nolan , Jenna Russell , Edgar Sandoval and Jonathan Wolfe .

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated when students at Princeton started to pitch tents. They erected tents on Thursday, not Wednesday.

How we handle corrections

Anna Betts reports on national events, including politics, education, and natural or man-made disasters, among other things. More about Anna Betts

When does your Visalia, Tulare student graduate?

The end of the school year is just around the corner and the hot days of summer are almost here. 

With the warmer weather comes the celebration of graduation day for thousands of Tulare County students across dozens of schools. 

As you get ready to plan for those graduation parties, trips and trying to snag tickets into the ceremony, here is a list of the graduation times, dates and locations for Visalia and Tulare schools:

Central Valley Christian 

When: 7 p.m.; May 17

Where: Cavalier Stadium 

5600 W Tulare Ave., Visalia

College of the Sequoias

When: 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.; May 23

Where: Mineral King Bowl 

1001 W. Main St, Visalia 

Golden West High School

When: 7:30 p.m.; May 28

El Diamante High School 

When: 7:30 p.m.; May 29

La Sierra Military Academy and Independent Study Program

When: 7 p.m.; May 30

Where: 1735 E. Houston Avenue, Visalia

Redwood High School

When: 7:30 p.m.; May 30

Community Day School

When: 1 p.m.; May 31

Where: Tulare County Office of Education Conference Center

6200 S. Mooney Blvd., Visalia

University Preparatory High School

When: 6 p.m.; May 31

Where: Visalia Fox Theatre

308 W. Main St., Visalia

Mt. Whitney High School 

When: 7:30 p.m.; May 31

1001 W. Main St., Visalia 

Tulare Union High School

When: 8 p.m.; June 7

Where: Bob Mathias Stadium

800 East Kern Ave., Tulare 

Tulare Western High School

When: 8 p.m.; June 6

800 East Kent Ave., Tulare

Mission Oak High School 

When: 8 p.m.; June 5

Where:  Bob Mathias Stadium

800 East Kern Ave., Tulare