Labor Day News

From the Bruin: The University of California has officially recognized an initiative aiming to form a student researchers union but excluded graduate students on fellowships and traineeships as part of the union. The UC Student Researchers United, a campaign to form a union to improve working conditions for student researchers, submitted more than 10,000 signed authorizations cards and a formal petition for representation to the California Public Employment Relations Board in May. In August, PERB verified the SRU had a majority of support and gave the UC an extension until Sept. 2 to formally raise objections or recognize the union, according to the SRU website.

On Aug. 25, the SRU held rallies at all UC campuses, calling on the UC to formally recognize the union in order to begin negotiations. The UC then recognized the SRU on Sept. 2 but announced it would continue to seek the exclusion of fellows and trainees in union enrollment.

Following the UC’s Sept. 2 decision, the SRU started a petition to demand the UC recognize a union including fellows and trainees.

According to case documents detailing the UC’s response to SRU’s petition obtained by the Daily Bruin, the UC chose to recognize approximately 11,000 graduate student researchers as part of a union. However, the UC argued students who receive external funding from fellowship or traineeship grants do not count as employees under the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act – the law that extends collective bargaining rights for UC and California State University employees.

The UC said in the case documents that the University does not exercise control over minimum stipend awards or termination of financial support for fellows and trainees. Therefore, they are not employees and are not granted the same collective bargaining rights under HEERA... 

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2021/09/04/uc-recognizes-student-researchers-union-excludes-certain-graduate-positions.