Yale grad students file petition seeking union certification

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Graduate students who assist in teaching and research at Yale University have filed petitions seeking union certification.

Monday’s filing with the National Labor Relations Board follows a ruling last week from the board that found graduate assistants at private universities are employees and have a right to union representation.

Students from 10 departments at Yale are asking the board to certify Local 33-UNITE HERE as their union. They are seeking NLRB elections department by department, beginning with those where union support appears strongest.

The students say they believe a union would help address concerns surrounding pay and benefits and give them a stronger voice in university affairs.

A Yale spokesman said the university did not immediately have any comment on the filing.