Democrat Proposes Bill to Protect Graduate Worker Unions (2)

Graduate student workers would be considered employees with the ability to unionize under federal labor law, according to a new bill Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan introduced Nov. 14.

The Wisconsin Democrat’s Respect Graduate Student Workers Act (no bill number) would block the National Labor Relations Board’s push to develop a regulatory proposal that would prevent graduate teaching assistants and other student workers at private universities and colleges from receiving federal protections that grant most private-sector workers the right to form or join a union.

The NLRB’s proposal would reverse its Obama-era decision in a 2016 case involving the Trustees of ...