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What I've Been Reading This Week: NLRB Grad Student Ruling Edition


A few weeks ago, the NLRB made a major ruling when it decided that graduate students at private universities can unionize.  To many, this was a landmark decision that again overturned prior NLRB rulings.  Even though the dust has not settled yet, I think this is a good time to highlight a few articles which touch on that NLRB ruling.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


A Closer Look at the Board's Ruling and Resulting Impact

Natasha Baker over at Inside Higher Ed has one of the more well thought out examinations of the Board's ruling and what the possible impact might be.  Tracking the Board's decision and analysis, Baker does a good job tracking prior decisions that ultimately led to this one.  It goes without saying that Baker took it one step further and offered a look at what the possible impact this decision could have going forward.  I would consider this a good supplement to those who want to read more than just the Board's decision.


Ten Yale Graduate Departments File For Union Elections

To the surprise of probably very few, once the Board's decision was announced, it did not take long for graduate students to take steps to unionize.  In this instance, Yale graduate students in ten departments filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board and requested an election of a union.  This certainly is not the last time we will see graduate students taking advantage of the Board's decision.


Yale Attempts to Challenge Graduate Students Seeking to Unionize

As a follow up to the prior article, Yale is challenging a bid by some graduate students at the university who are seeking to unionize.  The hearing on Yale's challenge began earlier this week and is expected to continue for several days.  This is definately one to keep an eye on.

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