NLRB Paves Way For Student Unionization

Seyfarth Synopsis: The NLRB ruled that students who work as teaching assistants at colleges and universities are "employees" under the NLRA and are thus permitted to engage in collective bargaining.

On August 23, 2016, the National Labor Relations Board issued a 3-1 decision in Columbia University, Case 02-RC-143012, holding that private college and university student assistants — including undergraduates — who perform services in connection with their studies, are "employees" under Section 2(3) of the National Labor Relations Act, and therefore have the right to bargain collectively.

In doing so, the Board overruled Brown University, 342 NLRB 483 (2004), which held that student assistants are not statutory employees. The ruling directly contradicts the Board's treatment of students under the Act for nearly all of its 80-year history.