On September 20th, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a proposed new rule that would reclassify graduate workers as students rather than employees.
If implemented, this rule would immediately revoke or endanger the rights that teaching assistants, research assistants, graduate assistants, training grant holders, and others are entitled to in their capacity as graduate employees, most importantly the right to collectively bargain over their pay, benefits, and working conditions. This constitutes a direct attack on graduate employees, the universities that employ them, and the institution of higher education itself.
While the decision would not immediately affect graduate students at public universities, like the Temple University Graduate Students’ Association (TUGSA), it would set a dangerous precedent.