Princeton graduate students appear less likely to unionize than peers

The National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that graduate students who are paid to teach or perform research at private colleges and universities have the right to unionize.

While this ruling gives graduate students at Princeton the legal right to form a union, there is not as much interest in exercising that right here as at some peer institutions.

Graduate students at New York University and Yale have been particularly active in the fight to secure unionization rights.

Last spring, 1,500 NYU graduate students voted to form a union — a move that was supported by a regional labor board decision. The NYU administration challenged the ruling, which prompted the recent decision by the NLRB.

At Yale, graduate students have been fighting for employee status since 1995, when they staged a strike, continuing to teach but withholding grades from their students.

Unlike their counterparts, however, graduate students at Princeton have mixed feelings about the possibility of forming a union.

"I don't know any grad students who feel strongly that the graduate student body should unionize, but I do know a number who feel that it is worth considering," said Eric Adelizzi, a member of the Graduate Student Government, in an e-mail.

"I, personally, do not think that grad students at Princeton should form a union. Princeton treats its grad students very well," Adelizzi added. "There are, as there will always be, unresolved issues, but I think that it is more productive to deal with these disagreements through institutions such as the Graduate Student Government and the various residential house committees than through litigation or ritualized negotiations."

Lauren Hale, president of the GSG, expressed a different opinion on the issue. "I would like to see graduate students unionize," she said.

Hale listed common grievances about the way graduate students are treated at the University, explaining that they are paid different amounts depending on their roles.

In addition, she noted that there are limitations on the benefits graduate students receive beyond their fourth and fifth years at the University.

Hale said though the GSG constitution stipulates that the body does not have the right to form a union, she still would like to see it happen. But Dean of the Graduate School John Wilson said he does not believe it would be a good idea for graduate students to unionize.

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"I do not think it will be in the students' best interests to move into an adversarial relationship," Wilson said. "It is important to remember that forming a union would only concern graduate students who teach or do certain kinds of research."

"Graduate students at Princeton do much less teaching than their counterparts elsewhere," he added.

Vice President for Finance and Administration Richard Spies GS '72 shared sentiments similar to Wilson's. "At Princeton, students can bring forward their concerns in a thoughtful way and can get a thoughtful response. I don't think it is worth it for them to have to deal with the trappings of a union to voice their concerns."

Along those lines, at a U-Council meeting Monday, graduate students expressed concerns about the state of the health care plan they now receive.

Vice President and Secretary Thomas Wright '62 articulated the University's commitment to meeting graduate students' needs without union intervention.

"The issue of dominating importance in regards to the needs of grad students is believed by virtually all of those concerned to be: 'How can Princeton offer the best possible graduate student experience to those who choose to pursue their graduate studies here?' " he said. "So long as graduate students, administrators and faculty continue to be focused on that question, the legal issue will probably continue to seem a subsidiary one."