UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Now that the spring semester is well underway, the Graduate School would like to provide an update on the graduate student unionization effort at Penn State, led by a group of graduate students.
Last year a petition was filed by the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) to unionize Penn State graduate students. In September 2017, a seven-day hearing was conducted before a hearing examiner appointed by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) to determine if an election should take place for a certain population of graduate students. Since then, both the University and PSEA have filed legal briefs with the PLRB, setting forth their respective positions. Now, we are waiting for a decision from the hearing examiner about what happens next.
If the PLRB determines that there should be an election, Penn State strongly encourages all eligible students to make their voices heard and exercise their right to vote. A simple majority (50 percent + 1) of those who actually vote (among those deemed by the PLRB as eligible to vote) would determine the result for all graduate students in the bargaining unit.
Graduate students are encouraged to become informed about the unionization effort. Below are several resources available to learn more about unionization and what it may mean for graduate students at Penn State:
- Will There be an Election?
- Comparison of Current Penn State Graduate Assistant Stipends and Benefits and Temple University Graduate Student’s Association (TUGSA) Union Contract
- Unionization FAQs
- Graduate Student Benefits
Additional information and resources are available at gradfacts.psu.edu. Specific questions about unionization can be directed to gradinfo@psu.edu.