Harvard University has removed roughly 800 graduate students from the Harvard Graduate Students Union–United Auto Workers (HGSU-UAW), asserting that they are not employees and therefore not entitled to union representation. The move has drawn criticism from labor advocates and student organizers and raises broader questions about the future of graduate labor rights in U.S. higher education.
According to The Harvard Crimson, the affected students receive research-based stipends but do not hold formal teaching or administrative appointments. In recent communications to faculty and the union, Harvard administrators stated that these students “are not employees under the National Labor Relations Act and do not have the right to unionize.” The university said that its position is based on recent rulings by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), including decisions involving similar cases at MIT and Brown University.
Harvard’s message to the union and faculty further claimed that “Harvard has never agreed that non-employees should be included in the unit.” This interpretation removes a substantial portion—approximately 15 percent—of the union’s former membership, weakening its bargaining position just as the union’s initial contract expired at the end of the 2025 fiscal year.
Union leaders have pushed back. Sara V. Speller, president of the HGSU-UAW, told The Crimson that the union is “working closely with the UAW and exploring our options.” The union has previously challenged Harvard’s stance in arbitration and won a favorable ruling related to the inclusion of research-focused psychology graduate students, though that case is now under federal review.
Harvard’s reclassification is not occurring in isolation. It comes in the context of ongoing efforts by elite universities to limit the reach of graduate student unions by drawing a line between academic training and paid labor. While the 2016 Columbia decision by the NLRB affirmed that graduate students at private universities could be classified as employees, recent decisions under a changing board composition have opened the door for reinterpretation. Harvard's legal strategy appears aligned with these more conservative rulings.
The Higher Education Inquirer has long supported the labor rights of contingent faculty, staff, and student workers, including graduate students whose research and teaching responsibilities serve as critical infrastructure in the academic enterprise. The removal of 800 graduate students from union protections reflects a broader pattern of university administrations attempting to limit collective bargaining power and redefine the boundaries of academic labor.
The implications of Harvard’s decision go beyond Cambridge. As other universities monitor the fallout, they may follow suit, especially as labor board interpretations shift with the political winds in Washington. In this climate, labor unions representing graduate students, adjunct faculty, and staff will need to navigate an increasingly complex terrain—one where administrative classification may determine who gets a voice at the bargaining table.
Graduate students affected by the reclassification may continue receiving stipends and conducting research, but they will no longer have access to grievance procedures, union-led negotiations, or other protections afforded to employees. Those who also serve as teaching fellows or hold research assistantships tied to grants will retain their union eligibility—for now.
For many observers, this case underscores the fragility of labor rights in higher education. It also reveals the persistent tension between the educational missions universities claim to uphold and the employment realities that sustain their operations. As Harvard redefines its labor boundaries, the national debate about who counts as a worker in academia grows sharper—and more urgent.
It's been a new day in the United Auto Workers since the election of Shawn Fain as president in 2023, with the union carrying out an aggressive organizing and political program that has established the UAW as a major presence in American life. New Labor Forum's Micah Uetricht spoke to Jonah Furman, a top aide to Fain, about the union's strategy, its various wins and losses among nonunion auto manufacturers in the American South, its relationship to the Democratic Party under President Joe Biden, and the impact of a Donald Trump presidency on the union and labor as a whole.
Reinventing Solidarity is a podcast produced by New Labor Forum (NLF), a national labor journal of the Murphy Institute at CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. The podcast features scholars, activists, and artists on the front lines of movements for social and economic justice, and asks essential questions about race, class, gender, and the role of organized labor and social justice organizations in creating a radically different world—one with solidarity, equality, and sustainability at its heart. Reinventing Solidary is hosted by NLF Editor-at-Large Micah Uetricht with co-hosts Kafui Attoh, Ruth Milkman, Samir Sonti, and Sean Sweeney.
Three Executive Committees for the faculty governance bodies of the State University of New York (SUNY) and the City University of New York (CUNY) today pledged their strong support for the “Statement of Unity for the Future of Higher Ed,” which was issued by Higher Education Labor United (HELU) and eleven national unions, from AFSCME to NEA to SEIU to UAW, that represent campus workers. These three Executive Committees, which lead and represent
● the SUNY University Faculty Senate (SUNY UFS), the system-wide shared governance organization for SUNY’s state-operated and statutory campuses (Keith Landa, President);
● the SUNY Faculty Council of Community Colleges (SUNY FCCC), the system-wide shared governance organization for SUNY’s community colleges (Candice Vacin, President); and
● the CUNY University Faculty Senate (CUNY UFS), the system-wide governance organization for CUNY’s 11 senior colleges, seven community colleges, and seven graduate, honors, and professional schools (John Verzani, President); released the following joint statement:
We endorse the HELU “Statement of Unity for the Future of Higher Ed” and urge SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr., CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, SUNY Board of Trustees Chair Merryl Tisch, CUNY Board of Trustees Chair William C. Thompson, Jr., and Governor Kathy Hochul to join the American Federation of Teachers, the American Association of University Professors, nine other national unions, United University Professions, SUNY UFS, SUNY FCCC, and CUNY UFS in calling on the Harris/Walz campaign (and, indeed, all presidential candidates and campaigns) to commit to investing in public higher education like the public good it is.
We urge Chancellors King and Matos Rodríguez, Chairs Tisch and Thompson, and Governor Hochul to call on the New York State Congressional delegation to set an example by uniting to maximize federal investments in SUNY and CUNY; expand student access to, and the affordability of, public higher education; and enhance working conditions and worker protections on every campus.
We urge Chancellors King and Matos Rodríguez, Chairs Tisch and Thompson, and Governor Hochul to make New York State the national leader in college affordability and in advancing the mission of public higher education. We encourage Governor Hochul to take the national stage with the boldest Executive Budget proposal for SUNY’s 64 campuses and CUNY’s 25 campuses in New York State history in State Fiscal Year 2026 (SFY26).
SUNY UFS, SUNY FCCC, and CUNY UFS will be proposing SFY26 Executive Budget Resolutions for approval at our Fall 2024 Plenaries. The proposed resolutions will lay out our case that increased state support for each SUNY and CUNY institution is needed to promote student access and success, to make SUNY and CUNY the world-class public higher education systems that they can be, and to super-charge regional economic and workforce development. We pledge to continue building broad public support for SUNY and CUNY on the ground that these public higher education systems advance the public good by transforming our students’ and patients’ lives and future prospects.
Updated September 3, 2024. UAW 2300 has reached a deal with Cornell University management after the longest strike in the university's history. The deal includes wage increases from 21 percent to 25.5 percent over the four years of the contract, a cost of living adjustment, and the elimination of the two-tier wage system. The agreement also introduces improvements to policies on time off, uniforms, inclement weather, and safety protections. HEI thanks Jimmy Jordan at the Ithaca Voice for his valuable contributions to this story.
This story is not just about Cornell University workers and Cornell University management, but also about Ithaca, New York: a progressive town that faces gentrification and high housing costs for working-class folks who feel the economic squeeze.
Recent Labor Victories Covered By the Higher Education Inquirer
After months of trying to negotiate with Cornell University management, hundreds of UAW Region 9 workers rallied for a fair contract following a 94 percent vote to strike if necessary.
August 18, 2024 (UAW Press Release)
Over 1,000 UAW members
have walked out on strike at Cornell University, as the university has
failed to present a fair package and has not bargained in good faith,
stalling and retaliating against protected union activity by the
workers.
The membership, made up of maintenance and facilities workers, dining
workers, gardeners, custodians, agriculture and horticulture workers
and others, are facing declining real wages even as Cornell’s endowment
has ballooned and tuition revenue has skyrocketed. Over the past four
years, Cornell’s endowment has soared 39% to nearly $10 billion and
tuition has increased 13% – all while workers’ buying power has fallen
5%.
Many of the workers have had to move out of Ithaca to afford housingand must pay expensive parking fees to park on campus. The wage for most
at the university is less than $22 per hour, far lower than what
economists estimate it costs for a family to live in the region. The
compensation for top administrators exceeded $12.4 million in 2022.
“Workers at Cornell are fed up with being exploited and used. The
university would much rather hoard its wealth and power than pay its
workers fairly,” said UAW Local 2300 President Christine Johnson.
“Cornell could have settled this weeks ago. Instead, they’ve scoffed
and laughed at us and broken federal law. We’re done playing around.”
“The workers at Cornell are pushing back against the university’s
arrogance and greed. With a $10 billion endowment, the administration
can more than afford the members’ demands,” said UAW Region 9 Director Daniel Vicente. “Workers in Local 2300 are showing the university that they are willing to do what’s needed to win what they deserve.”
Cornell University workers are the latest UAW members standing up to
billionaire class greed. Thousands of UAW members have won record
contracts in the last year, including auto workers at Daimler Truck, the
Big Three automakers, and Allison Transmission workers in Indianapolis,
IN.
After months of failing to negotiate with workers, and with the new school year closing in, Cornell University administrators asked that a mediator be appointed.
Cornell University workers asked for a 27 percent increase in wages over four years, with a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA). The university offered a 17 percent increase in wages over four years, with no COLA. The university wanted to keep a divisive two-tiered system which gave lower wages to workers who started after 1997. Cornell also wanted employees to continue to pay for parking.
The University appeals to our better natures, to our commitment to
community, to conceal their real ask: to betray these friends and
colleagues, at the moment when they are most in need of our support.
The Cornell leadership of the UAW 2300 chapter, by contrast, has
shown a richer vision of what community needs and what it can be. They
too appeal to our desire to help out, to step up. They have asked for
solidarity, rather than to undermine each other. To not replace
striking labor or the work that they do. To show up on the picket line.
To voice support. To demand that Cornell sign a fair contract. They have
asked us to take the side of those members of our community fighting
for a better life. They have asked us to stand with them.
And in so doing, they are teaching us that real community can only be
forged by a honest appraisal of injustice and unfairness, by a real
understanding of the power that a few employers and institutional
leaders hold over everyone else, and by a real commitment to challenging
it.
According to 14850.com, workers reached a tentative deal with management. 'Over the life of the agreement, members will see an average increase
of 21%-25.4% in hourly wages over the four years, depending on grade
and hire/job rate,' said the UAW on Tuesday night. A sharp increase in
pay to bring wages in line with the actual cost of living in Tompkins
County was one of the union’s key demands."
