With 1,860 in favor to 179 against, Yale graduate students voted overwhelmingly to form a union to fight for better pay and working conditions at the Ivy League university, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced this week.
Under the NLRB process, Yale has seven days to file objections to the election before the federal body will certify the union, dubbed Local 33.
Yale President Peter Salovey pledged to work with the new union in a statement.
“The university will now turn to bargaining in good faith with Local 33 to reach a contract,” Salovey said on Monday.
Graduate student workers have attempted to form a union for years at the university, which has been racked by major strikes by other worker unions in past decades.
As part of the organizing drive, graduate students argued that they “are crucial to the university’s mission of performing cutting-edge research and providing undergraduates with a world-class education. Our work makes Yale work!” the union said in a statement.
“Graduate workers at Yale have maintained one of the country’s longest continuous union representation drives against fierce opposition from the Yale administration, including previous refusal to recognize the results of NLRB elections,” Local 33 said in a statement on its website.
Salovey said that the union vote “will affect the entire community” and urged faculty members to review university guidelines on discussing the subject of unionization with students.
“As we work with the graduate student union, we will continue to be guided by our commitment to Yale’s educational and research mission and to the success of all our students,” Salovey said.
Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.