Duke owes grad workers better rhetoric

As graduate student employees at Duke prepare for union elections, their university is pushing back. This is to be expected. University presidents across the U.S. have been vocal in their opposition to grad worker unions, and it’s easy to see why. When grad workers unionize, the university is legally bound to consider their interests as they—the grad workers—voice them. This means one fewer budget area where administrators may cut corners in the hopes of going unnoticed.

In resisting unionization, Duke’s administration has cited a tired list of potential consequences. They recite claims that have been consistently debunked by not only the highest labor authority in the land, but also by research from some of the very institutions whose administrators recite the claims.

For example, Duke’s administration reminds grad workers that they are primarily students. Of course, as the NLRB has pointed out, one’s status as a student does not bear on one’s simultaneous status as an employee in need of labor protections. Duke goes on to remind grad workers that they should be grateful for their chance at receiving a graduate education, and that availing themselves of basic labor protections is unwarranted.

Things get worse. Duke’s administration goes on to refer to the union as a “non-academic third party,” as though a collection of legally empowered graduate workers somehow ceases to be a part of the institution at which they work. In reality, graduate student workers are the union, and will be empowered to achieve better work conditions. The administration goes on to fret about the possible impact that this “third party” could have on “your current ability to work directly with your faculty advisors on issues affecting your scholarship and research.” That claim has been thoroughly debunked for some time, and in fact the opposite may be true.

The ability of a university to retain its research ranking and to maintain a high undergraduate population relies on grad workers. Despite this, university administrators consistently overlook them. We have seen health insurance prematurely stripped. We have seen clever fee structures circumvent our tuition waivers. We have seen our stipends fail to keep pace with inflation and cost of living. All this while universities rely increasingly on us to make their business models work. The problem is that graduate workers by nature have a high turnover rate, which makes us an easy population to take advantage of.

A democratically elected union allows graduate workers to ensure that their needs are consistently and robustly taken into consideration. It is irresponsible and embarrassing for administrators to use myths and misinformation in an effort to interfere with their grad workers’ free exercise of their established labor rights. Graduate employees deserve better.

Alex Howe is the Acting Employment Concerns Advocate for the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students.