On August 23, the National Labor Relations Board issued several
decisions affecting unionization rights at private universities. In
the first of these,
Columbia University, the Board held that graduate and
undergraduate teaching assistants had the right to unionize. In a
separate pair of decisions,
Seattle University and
St. Xavier University, the Board also held that religious
studies faculty could be excluded from adjunct faculty unions.
Student assistants at private universities may unionize
In Columbia University, the Board held that both
graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants, as well as graduate
research assistants, are entitled to collective bargaining under
the National Labor Relations Act. Graduate student unions at public
institutions are common, as students' collective bargaining
rights at public universities is governed by state law. However,
the Board has jurisdiction over student unions at private
universities.
