Final details set for grad union vote
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It's official: The times, dates and places are set for the graduate employee unionization vote at Penn State.
The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board released its official order Wednesday.
“This election has been almost four years in the making,” Mariam Taleb, organizer for the Coalition of Graduate Employees, said in a press release from CGE.
She said the coalition is "very excited" that an attempt by an outside group "couldn't stop the democratic process. We look forward to winning the vote for our union.”
The voting schedule is as follows:
University Park
- 9 a.m.-5 p.m., April 10, Bennett Pierce Living Center, Henderson Building
- 11 a.m.-7 p.m., April 11, Charles W. Mann Jr. Assembly Room, Paterno Library
- 11 a.m.-7 p.m., April 12, Charles W. Mann Jr. Assembly Room, Paterno Library
- 10 a.m.-5 p.m., April 13, Room W202 and W203, Millennium Science Complex
Hershey Medical
- noon-4 p.m., April 16, Room C-1845, Biomedical Research Building
Penn State Harrisburg
- 3-6 p.m., April 17, Morrison Gallery, Penn State Harrisburg Library
Graduate employees at the Great Valley and Behrend campuses will vote via mail ballot, which will be mailed April 9 and must be returned to and received by the PLRB by 5 p.m. April 23.
According to the PLRB order, voters may be required, at the discretion of the board agent conducting the election, to present identification, such as a student ID.
Jerome Clarke, co-president of CGE, said in the press release that the coalition is disappointed to see voter ID requirements in the order.
"We’ve seen this playbook throughout the nation: Voter identification requirements are intended to disenfranchise voters, especially those that would benefit from the protection of a union the most,” he said.
About 3,800 graduate students are eligible to vote, and a simple majority of votes will determine the outcome.
Penn State has made its opposition to a union clear, saying the university considers graduate assistants to be students first and foremost.
"All graduate assistants (teaching and research assistants) and trainees are encouraged to get the facts, avoid misinformation, consider all points of view and form their own opinions," the university said in a press release Wednesday.
This story was originally published March 28, 2018 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Final details set for grad union vote."