From: SGAcont <sgacont-bounces@coe.northeastern.edu> on behalf of The Office of the Provost <office_of_the_provost@northeastern.edu>
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2023 3:16 PM
Subject: Important Information about Graduate Student Union Efforts
Dear Graduate Students:
I am writing to you after an announcement by the United Autoworkers Union that intends to represent all graduate students at Northeastern. Some of you may have been approached by students representing the union and asked to sign an Authorization Card. All of you will likely be asked by the union to vote in favor of union representation if an election is held.
The decision to sign a card or how to vote in an election is important because having a union involved in your graduate student experience will impact you. For this reason, the university encourages you to be fully informed of the issues before you sign a card or cast a vote. We encourage graduate students to learn as much as possible about unionization and ask that you consider the following examples of information:
Unions do not guarantee bigger stipends: University stipends have been increasing over time as part of a regularized effort to expand graduate student support and attract top-level talent to our campuses. Bargaining over issues such as stipends would take place with a union and there are no guarantees in negotiations, which means student stipends may increase, decrease, or stay the same.
Financial cost to you: You can expect to pay union dues or an equivalent agency fee to the union, which could be 2% of your gross stipend. As an example, the United Autoworkers charges graduate students at NYU dues of 2% plus a $50 initiation fee.
Impacts on what you do: While we do not know what would happen in bargaining, any, and possibly all, terms and conditions of your teaching or research assistant responsibilities will be subject to negotiation. In practice, this can mean that you will have less influence over your teaching or research assignments.
Importantly, during the time that any agreement is under negotiation, Northeastern would have an obligation to maintain the status quo as to the terms and conditions of your teaching or research assistant responsibilities. We do not know how long bargaining would take, but it is not unusual for bargaining of a first contract to take many months or even years.
Losing your individual voice and flexibility: In the event of collective bargaining, the union can decide what issues to prioritize at the bargaining table. Given that the United Autoworkers union wants to represent all graduate students, the bargaining team may have interests that differ from what is important to you, meaning your specific priorities can easily go unaddressed.
Because the union believes you are an employee, not a student, collective bargaining could mean that the university would have to deal directly with the union regarding terms and conditions of your teaching or research assistant responsibilities. While we do not know what would happen in bargaining, the union could seek to limit your ability to work one-on-one with your advisor on aspects of your assignments.
Generic terms for diversified interests: Unions often negotiate one-size-fits-all contracts that fail to capture specific individual interests. It is important to consider how your interests could be represented in an agreement designed to cover a large, diverse group of PhDs in different colleges. Issues you value such as types of assignments, priorities for assignment, changes in assignments and schedules and experiential opportunities may differ from graduate students in other colleges, yet these and other issues could, after bargaining, be controlled by language that applies generically to the larger group.
You could be called out to strike: While the University would bargain in good faith, it would not have to agree to any of the union’s demands. The typical way that unions impose pressure on employers is to call a strike. We do not know whether there would be a strike here, and we certainly would not want one. However, the union may call upon you to take part in a strike. In the event of a strike, your stipend stops. Being out on strike could also interrupt your academic and research work.
You are a graduate student, not an autoworker. At Northeastern, you can chart your own graduate education path and work creatively with advisors and your college to build a unique and rewarding graduate experience. Involving a third party in your education impedes the flexibility and creativity that creates unique individualized experiences.
I encourage you to make an informed choice before deciding to sign an Authorization Card or vote in favor of a union. To help students assess the pros and cons of graduate student unionization, we have created a website with helpful information and resources. If there is an election, it is important that you vote. Unions are chosen from a majority of votes cast, meaning a small group who votes could decide union representation for everyone. Finally, students who have questions or wish to provide feedback to the University can email gradunioninfo@northeastern.edu.
We have made significant progress as a graduate community and the university looks forward to building on our strengths and continuing to work with graduate government, and with you at the college level, to expand and enhance our graduate programs.
Regards,
David Madigan, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs