Earlier today, you may have received an email from Penn State admin with the subject line: “Notice To Students Of Rights Under The Family Educational Rights And Privacy Act.” Admin sent this to everyone who was working as a graduate assistant, teaching assistant, research assistant, or trainee in December of 2024, when grad workers petitioned for our union election. Since Penn State’s email was confusing and overly-complicated, we wanted to share the following clarification to help ensure grad workers aren’t confused.
Now that our hearing with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board has concluded, the university has an obligation to share this list of names with PLRB to confirm our initial petition. The form admin sent out gives grad workers the option to choose not to share their information with the PLRB. We encourage all grad workers not to send an email opting out. This is a normal part of the legal process, and objections may only further delay things.
As we move forward in this process of building our union and negotiating a fair contract with Penn State, admin may send additional notices regarding the Family Educational Rights And Privacy Act (FERPA) and the release of grad workers’ information. We will be sure to continue to provide updates and clarifications accordingly as we all navigate this process together.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by responding to this email or emailing info@pennstategradworkers.org.
Tahir Haideri
Research Assistant and PhD Candidate
Biomedical Engineering
Christine Bowlus
Research/Teaching Assistant and
PhD Candidate
Kinesiology
REMINDER: Penn State admin and graduate workers agreed to a fall election in late October to early November. Preparing to win our union election starts NOW, click here to join fellow graduate workers to get out the vote!