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SUNY Students, Workers Vote in Unprecedented Joint Election
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the National Labor Relations Board said that university student researchers may be unionized along with non-student employees in a combined unit, backing an election filing by CWA Local 1104 at the State University of New York.
While students at universities have been organized in separate units from non-students in the past, this is the first time the NLRB has recognized a combined unit, local President Bob Lilja said.
The local has been helping student research assistants and non-student employees organize for the past year at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Lilja reported.
They filed as employees not of the university but of the Research Foundation of the SUNY Office of Sponsored Research, a non-profit corporation headquartered in Albany. Eighty-three with titles of research project assistant are students pursuing advanced degrees, and 16 are non-student research support specialists.
SUNY tried to argue that the students receive scholarships and other assistance from the university and therefore are not employees as defined by federal labor law.
After a recent hearing, NLRB Region 3 Director Rhonda Aliouat concluded that the student research assistants perform similar work in similar circumstances to the non-students, and both groups constitute "an appropriate community of interest."
Furthermore, since they are employees of a private company and not the university, the fact that some workers are students is essentially irrelevant to their status as employees, she determined, ordering an election for April 16.
The employer appealed, but on the morning of the election the NLRB ordered it to go forward with ballots impounded pending a hearing.
Turnout was light because of the short notice, but with three observers from the local present throughout the day, Executive Vice President Kathleen Simms was confident of a positive result.
Still, based upon her experience with other appeals, she said it could be a long time before the researchers can declare victory.
"Things are only getting slower at the NLRB," she said.
While students at universities have been organized in separate units from non-students in the past, this is the first time the NLRB has recognized a combined unit, local President Bob Lilja said.
The local has been helping student research assistants and non-student employees organize for the past year at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Lilja reported.
They filed as employees not of the university but of the Research Foundation of the SUNY Office of Sponsored Research, a non-profit corporation headquartered in Albany. Eighty-three with titles of research project assistant are students pursuing advanced degrees, and 16 are non-student research support specialists.
SUNY tried to argue that the students receive scholarships and other assistance from the university and therefore are not employees as defined by federal labor law.
After a recent hearing, NLRB Region 3 Director Rhonda Aliouat concluded that the student research assistants perform similar work in similar circumstances to the non-students, and both groups constitute "an appropriate community of interest."
Furthermore, since they are employees of a private company and not the university, the fact that some workers are students is essentially irrelevant to their status as employees, she determined, ordering an election for April 16.
The employer appealed, but on the morning of the election the NLRB ordered it to go forward with ballots impounded pending a hearing.
Turnout was light because of the short notice, but with three observers from the local present throughout the day, Executive Vice President Kathleen Simms was confident of a positive result.
Still, based upon her experience with other appeals, she said it could be a long time before the researchers can declare victory.
"Things are only getting slower at the NLRB," she said.