Yale student workers vote to unionize

Labor unions, which saw plummeting membership trends in recent years, are seeing a resurgence on college and university campuses in the form of graduate and professional student workers. The latest university to join the unionization bandwagon is Yale University.

The Yale Daily News reported on the unionization vote, which passed with 1,860 votes in favor of forming a labor union out of the total 2,039 votes cast. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) tallied the vote, which agency has done a 180-degree ideological turn under President Joe Biden to favor unions over workers and businesses.

The student workers will form a collective bargaining unit under UNITE HERE Local 33, which claimed to have fought for university recognition since 1990. Yale indicated that it recognized the vote results and will begin negotiations with Local 33.

In a press release, Local 33 said that it was exciting to win the unionization vote and that the members look forward to a first contract that will set the foundation for future workers.

But Local 33 has run into controversy before at Yale. It dropped union petitions during the Trump administration and it was accused of running “aggressive” organizing and recruitment tactics, to the point that it was denounced for its organizing tactics.

Yale student workers join eight other unions for graduate student workers, which are located at the likes of the University of California system, Columbia University, Harvard University, and Georgetown University.

The Ivy League used to a well-respected group of private higher education institutions, but they have fallen far from their perch as radical, politicized students have imposed one-sided, partisan dogma on college campuses such as rabid support for labor unions. But, having a union does not solve all ills and can lead to further complications, such as significant paycheck deductions for membership dues, tricky contract negotiations and potential labor strikes.

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