Penn State graduate employees group to launch union drive

On Wednesday, more than five months of prep will end with a new start for a group of graduate students.

That’s when the Coalition for Graduate Employees officially embarks on its card drive, an effort to get the 3,600 or so Penn State grad students who work for the university in some capacity to band together to become an official union.

It started with a picnic on Labor Day when they announced their intentions and started to work on explaining to their researching and teaching brethren just why working as a bargaining unit was important. On Wednesday at noon, a rally in front of Old Main will start the drive.

But why are students trying to start a union?

According to some of them, like English literature doctoral candidate Robert Birdwell, it is because graduate students provide a lot of work for a major university like Penn State, but without the stability of a regular old job.

If a student majors in secondary education, he might graduate, get a job at a high school, start teaching classes and grading papers, covered by the union that represents school district employees, and be just a couple of years away from making the tenure that provides the basis for a lifetime of job security.

But if that student majors in, say, English, and decides to continue his education toward a master’s and then a doctorate, he could still be teaching classes and grading papers, plus doing research and writing papers, all while still studying, but without any of the guarantees that come with full-time employment and a bargaining unit.

Shakil Rabbi is a English graduate student who works for the university, too. He says that the needs of international students can be even more acute, and may involve other people. The spouse of a graduate employee from another country might not have the same visa, and therefore might not be allowed to work, leaving that person dependent on the student’s income.

Irene Arellano, a research assistant doing graduate work in labor and global workers rights, says health care is another critical component.

Students like the three of them have been working for months to spread the word about the card drive and answering questions about the process.

The next step is gathering the cards. That is different, Arellano says, from voting to unionize. The cards allow the CGE to show interest. If a significant number of the student employees pledge support, the cards are turned over to the National Labor Relations Board for evaluation. Then there could be a vote.

The CGE has up to a year to collect those cards, but Arellano believes they may meet their goal of at least half much sooner.

“We have gotten a great deal of support,” said Birdwell.

What has not happened is a hostile atmosphere between the CGE and Penn State. The students say the university has posted their own set of frequently asked questions about the process, but there haven’t been problems.

The administration spoke to the value of the student employees when contacted, and that’s something they say they show in a paycheck.

“Graduate students are here primarily to earn advanced degrees. In short, they come to Penn State first and foremost as students. They make important and valuable contributions to the university, but we see these activities principally as learning opportunities that help prepare them for their future careers,” said spokeswoman Lisa Powers.

“The stipends offered by Penn State are significant and are designed to attract the best and brightest graduate students, with the average stipend across the university equal to an hourly rate of over $26 per hour,” she wrote in an email explaining the position. “Penn State graduate assistants each receive a grant-in-aid that covers the full cost of tuition for the semester (in which the assistantship is awarded), and Penn State continues to have one of the most comprehensive medical insurance plans for graduate students of any major university in the U.S. In addition, the university contributes 80 percent of the annual premium cost of the plan for graduate assistants, fellows and trainees, and 75 percent for dependent coverage.”

Arellano said another aspect of a bargaining unit is having a seat at the table. Graduate employees, she said, want their voices heard.

Powers said that is addressed already.

“Graduate students also have representation on university governing bodies and advisory committees. We recognize the many challenges our students face and we would hope that we are able to continue to interact directly with them without a third party,” she wrote.

Penn State has a graduate student who is a member of the board of trustees, Allison Goldstein, who was appointed by former Gov. Tom Corbett. That position, however, is not guaranteed to another graduate student when her term ends next year. A student trustee was created in 2015, but that office is currently filled by undergraduate Luke Metaxas.

The CGE points to other schools that have unionized graduate students, like Harvard, Yale and Pitt, Penn State’s fellow state-related university.

The Pitt students became members of the steelworkers union that is one of the most powerful in that region. The CGE has opted to ally itself with the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the big brother of other Centre County teachers unions.

“Penn State’s graduate employees are making incredible contributions to a great university. The work they do should be recognized, valued and appreciated,” said PSEA treasurer Rich Askey in an email. “Most of all, graduate employees deserve to be treated fairly, earn paid fair wages and solid benefits, and be guaranteed good working conditions. That’s why PSEA is proud to work with the PSU Coalition of Graduate Employees, and will continue to advocate for them as they seek representation from our union, which is the largest and oldest school employee union in Pennsylvania.”

But for now, there is no timeline for when a union might represent the student employees. The next step in seeing if it ever happens is the beginning of the card drive.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 8:36 PM with the headline "Penn State graduate employees group to launch union drive."