Hearing Update

Today was the final day of the hearing to determine whether Research Assistants or Trainees are employees at Penn State. The PA labor relations board examiner will make a decision on who is eligible to vote in the union election in August. Both admin and graduate workers agreed on a fall election in late October or early November, with the exact date to be determined. While we await a decision, preparing to win our fall election starts NOW!

RSVP to Prepare for an Election this Summer

Admin continued to call witnesses in an attempt to claim RAs and trainees are not employees, and even further that we are a cost to the university and stipends are just “a nice thing to do.” Even though multiple witnesses stated the work we do as RAs and trainees is fundamentally the same as the work of technicians, postdocs, and even professors, admin continues to deny that our valuable contributions are in fact labor.

Here are some highlights from the witnesses in the last two days of the hearing:

• Kent Vrana, Professor of Pharmacology in the College of Medicine, claimed that research assistants are not employees and did not recognize a terms-of-offer letter signed by a grad worker in his own department. He acknowledged that RAs and trainees might spend more than 40 hours a week in the lab but suggested this was acceptable because they “have to see that the work gets done.”  

• Troy Ott, the Dean of the College of Agriculture, stated that stipends should allow working class people to enter academia. Seemingly contradicting his previous statement, he also said stipends are a “blessing” to graduate workers, implying that we should be grateful for what we have.  

• Michael Verderame, Senior Associate Dean at the Graduate School, asserted that research assistants and trainees are not workers based on the university’s pay grade scales, tax documents, and healthcare.

• Andrew Read, Vice President of Research, claimed research assistants and trainees are “a cost” that do not provide value to the university. He also confirmed that, just like employees, graduate workers must sign intellectual property agreements that give ownership of IP to the university and creates a revenue stream.

• John Mauro, Professor in Material Science and Engineering and Head of Graduate Research, stated that research assistantships are not required to complete a dissertation. The dissertation is only an academic requirement, not a work requirement. This calls into question admin’s entire premise.

All week, admin has struggled to support their argument that RAs and trainees are not workers while insisting we should be “grateful.” Graduate workers understand our work contributes to the generation of knowledge for the public good, over a billion dollars in research funding, and the status of Penn State as an R01 University. Without a union, Penn State admin fails to recognize our contributions with fair pay and safe working conditions. Unionizing is a democratic right of workers, and we will continue to fight for safe and fair working conditions. Graduate workers stand together and look forward to a decision that recognizes we are ALL workers.

What’s Next?

In August the PA labor relations board examiner will make a decision on who is eligible to vote in the union election this fall. Both admin and graduate workers agreed on a fall election in late October or early November, with the exact date to be determined. While we wait for a decision, preparing to win our fall election starts NOW, click here to join fellow graduate workers to prepare to win our union!