Graduate Student Unionization Efforts

In April, The Crimson broke news that a group of students from Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was planning an effort to unionize, a move that could drastically alter the working relationship between Harvard and many of its teaching fellows and Ph.D. seekers. Graduate student teaching fellows have long charged they are overworked and underpaid, but the unionization movement marks a new effort to rally for better living and teaching conditions and follows similar efforts at peer universities like Yale and Columbia.

University President Drew G. Faust has firmly opposed the prospect of unionization, saying that such a relationship would fundamentally change the dynamic between faculty and students from one based in mentorship to one based on labor. The Graduate School’s dean, Xiao-Li Meng, also affirmed his opposition to the union movement in an October message to colleagues. Another document sent to administrators included a list of guidelines on how to respond to the effort: by encouraging discussion but avoiding hostility.

During the fall semester, the students pushing for unionization amped up their efforts to recruit new members. They created a website, and students involved in the movement gained the support of the Graduate Student Council. The movement also partnered with the United Auto Workers Union.

It remains to be seen whether the graduate students’ unionization efforts will bear fruit. For now, they have no legal precedent.

{timeline num=5 date1='Early April' event1="The Crimson breaks the news that a group of students at Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is planning an effort to unionize." date2='September' event2="Graduate students amp up efforts to recruit new members for their unionization movement." date3='Late September' event3="Graduate student union effort partners with United Auto Workers Union." date4='October 14' event4="In a message to colleagues, GSAS Dean Xiao-Li Meng affirms opposition to unionization and includes guidelines on how to respond to the effort." date5='November 4' event5="Graduate Student Council votes to support students involved in the unionization movement."}