Contract negotiations have begun between Cornell and the union that represents graduate teaching assistants, graduate research assistants, research assistants and graduate assistants at the Ithaca, Geneva and Cornell Tech campuses. 

A committee of Cornell representatives and a committee formed by Cornell Graduate Students United and their affiliate union, the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) met in March and again in April to discuss a list of proposals representing the union’s initial bargaining position on several subjects. Talks will continue in the coming months. 

“Negotiations have gotten off to a good start,” said Laurie Johnston, senior director of staff and labor relations for the university and a member of the bargaining team. The Office of Staff and Labor Relations in the Division of Human Resources negotiates and administers the university’s eight other labor union contracts, which cover roughly 2,000 employees. Johnston expects the bargaining process with the UE to continue professionally and constructively.  

In fall 2023, Cornell Graduate Students United and UE filed a petition for representation with the National Labor Relations Board. In an election held in November, graduate students funded through assistantships voted to approve the UE as their exclusive representative for the purposes of collective bargaining. The contract that Cornell and the UE committee negotiate will determine the terms and conditions of employment for assistantship appointments. 

Johnston said the Cornell committee wants to move swiftly with negotiations and that they have set a brisk timeline with the UE of seven full-day bargaining sessions in the coming weeks, but the duration of the negotiation process is uncertain. Depending on the requirements for a new contract, negotiations can take several months to a year, she said. 

The UE is the first union to represent graduate students at Cornell, but the university has long-standing relationships with other unions, some for close to 100 years, Johnston said. “Cornell is committed to positive working relationships with the labor organizations that represent our employees,” she said. 

Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education Kathryn J. Boor said that graduate workers hold a unique and valued place at Cornell. 

“Graduate assistants wear two hats: They’re students and they’re workers,” she said. “The primary reason that graduate students come to Cornell is to earn a degree. The hours they spend studying and doing research for their dissertations support their personal academic goals.” 

Many students also function as graduate teaching assistants, graduate research assistants, research assistants and graduate assistants, and in those capacities, they are key parts of the university’s overall teaching and research missions, Boor said. 

“We aim to ensure that the contract supports the needs of graduate workers and complements our goals for graduate students’ progress as scholars and degree candidates,” Boor said. 

Merry Buckley is assistant dean for communications at the Graduate School.