About Us

We are Drexel student workers forming a union to improve the student worker experience at Drexel and to increase our voice as student workers locally and nationally.

Student workers make essential contributions to the world-class research conducted at Drexel, but many of us still struggle to meet the cost of living in Philadelphia, lack secure rights in the workplace, and face increasing uncertainty about our futures given the precarious nature of science funding and unstable regulation of visas and work authorization in recent years. 

We join a growing national movement of academic workers forming unions with the UAW to improve our lives and our work. UAW student workers across the country have made a difference advocating for science research funding, fair visa and immigration policies, and better working conditions in all academic institutions. 

We have already seen the power of organized student workers at major research institutions to dramatically improve their working conditions through unionization, including graduate student workers at the University of Pennsylvania and academic workers at other major research institutions including the University of California, Columbia University, Caltech, and many more. By building on their experiences, we can continue to raise standards for academic working conditions across Philadelphia and around the country.

Aiden Van Horn

Mathematics

The disparity in pay between departments is appalling. One can see exactly how much the university values one kind of education and labor over another, despite the importance of a variety of workers witj different educational breadths in society. Teachers are equally as necessary as engineers, and should be treated as such. Students should be able to live comfortably while providing labor for the university and pursuing their studies. I hope that unionizing gives us the voice as a community to advocate for each other and ourselves for what we need to live happily and fully during our graduate student career.

Andrea Tristan Urrutia

Epidemiology and Biostatistics

I support a graduate worker labor union at Drexel because my stipend directly affects my ability to support my parents back home, who are both over 65 and increasingly rely on me for help. As an international student, I don’t have financial wiggle room—unexpected costs like transportation, immigration appointments, or required travel hit my budget hard. Fair pay, stable benefits, and protections would give me the security to care for my family while continuing my graduate work without constant financial stress.

Mark Hernandez

Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Graduate workers generate so much value for Drexel through our research and our teaching. Yet the university pays us at a substantially lower rate than graduate workers at other universities doing the same work. I can barely break even on rent and basic living expenses with our current pay, and I feel like I have very little voice within this institution to change things. I support forming a graduate worker union because it will give all of us the collective power to drive meaningful change in our working conditions, and to get the compensation that properly reflects our contributions.

Lynn Gumert

Research Assistant, Creative Arts Therapies, College of Nursing and Health Professions

Because stipends at Drexel are so low, I have a second job as an adjunct at Rowan University, where I am a member of our adjunct faculty union. I’ve seen our union there successfully bargain for pay raises and other support for adjuncts. With a union for grad workers at Drexel, we could also bargain for things like more comprehensive healthcare benefits. While Drexel covers basic health insurance for graduate workers, it does not cover vision or dental benefits, and I have had to postpone needed care because of this. When Drexel took away the option of including dependents, I was left scrambling to find insurance for my daughter. I want a union because collective bargaining power is the only way to get large organizations to listen to the needs of employees and make improvements to important benefits.

Peter Mao

Mathematics

I support a graduate worker labor union at Drexel because I think it’s important that we as graduate students bargain collectively to make sure our voices are heard. I especially think that our access to health insurance and support with transportation are places that have been neglected and could be much improved.

Kati Hinman

Community Health and Prevention

I support a union because I’ve been frustrated by the lack of support for grad workers dealing with health conditions and other emergencies. Several of my friends have been forced to either work through illness or face withdrawing. Receiving leave time is ultimately left up to the goodwill of one’s advisor. Nobody should have to sacrifice their health and wellbeing for their job.

Glen Rogers

Electrical Engineering

Yuna Dai

Education

As an international grad worker, I want to have a stronger voice for our community both at Drexel and beyond. International workers face many challenges such as visa restrictions that limit employment flexibility and uncertain stability in the U.S. that we currently don’t have any power to address. Without a voice in our workplace, these realities pose profound challenges to our work and studies. A union would empower international grad workers by allowing us to advocate for our rights and amplify our voices both in our workplace at Drexel and at a national scale.

Bre Hewitt

Biology

Our health insurance requires us to pay 20% of everything that is covered. Unless you go through student health, who can only do so much, our medical insurance is wholly inadequate. That’s why I support Drexel graduate workers forming a union to improve our working conditions and benefits.

Jon Merwin

Biodiversity Earth and Environmental Sciences

Many of my colleagues have struggled to receive adequate coverage for routine healthcare. Our pay does not meet the cost of living and modest pay increases have been accompanied by cuts to other benefits, like healthcare coverage for dependents and transit benefits. I support a union to make sure graduate workers are paid their fair share. Bargaining as a union, we can win the benefits and protections we deserve.

Lisa Frueh

Environmental and Occupational Health

I support a grad worker union at Drexel because there is a clear disparity between the value we provide for the university through teaching and research, and how underpaid and undervalued we are by the university. We deserve better working conditions–like higher pay and better leave policies–across the university. The only way I can see these conditions improving is by forming a union and negotiating with the university.

Paul DeSantis

Biomedical Engineering

I support forming a union at Drexel because graduate students should be able to show solidarity with one another and ensure that everyone has a chance to succeed in their education and career. Without a union, students have very little say in how much we earn, what health insurance we have, and ways we can improve our working conditions. I have enjoyed the opportunities I’ve had in Biomed at Drexel but hope that a union could ensure others continue to have the same opportunities in the future.

Evangeline Williams

Microbiology and Immunology

Drexel University calls itself a “world-class comprehensive R1 research institution,” but the reality for many of us is very different. We are producing high-caliber work under unsafe and unacceptable conditions—labs and offices flood from faulty plumbing, and medical-grade sterile air systems fail in the middle of experiments. I support forming a union because I believe we deserve better. I want to hold Drexel to the same high standards it expects from its students.

Jasper Ty

Mathematics

The ability to collectively bargain is an profoundly important, protected right, and we graduate student workers deserve a real voice and a seat at the table on decisions that shape our lives and well-being, regardless of college or citizenship status. Many of us doctoral students pursue research and teaching with deep commitment, and basic matters ranging from financial support to anxiety about visa and employment policies can and often do affect our ability to excel. A union allows us to address and navigate these challenges in a fair, unified way.z

Nhat Phan

Chemical and Biological Engineering

I support a graduate worker labor union at Drexel so that our rights can be protected. These include but not limit to workplace safety, especially lab spaces, stipends, and transportation benefits. A union would help ensure that existing issues are properly addressed and that working conditions are improved.

Jacob Duggan

Biology

Workers deserve to be healthy. Good quality healthcare should be provided to us which includes coverage for eyes and dental work. I have only visited the dentist 1 time in my 5 years at Drexel and I could not afford all the treatments I needed to stay healthy. Forming a union is the only way we can receive the healthcare we deserve.

Jacob Nantz

Materials Science and Engineering

As a graduate student who also commutes to campus, there are additional costs for me to attend classes and conduct research. Drexel’s recent cancellation of the SEPTA Key Advantage program directly impacts me by drastically increasing my transportation costs. A union could help secure my access to safe and affordable transportation to fulfill my obligations as a doctoral fellow.

Sarah Biedka

Creative Arts Therapies

As a disabled and chronically ill graduate academic worker living on a single income, I support forming a union as a means to collectively ensure all graduate academic workers at the university are provided with an equitable living wage, safe working conditions, and adequate health insurance coverage to affordably meet all their healthcare needs. I have witnessed workers from other colleges being afforded opportunities that workers from our college were not (e.g., meeting with health insurance representatives) while also receiving higher pay. Even within our college, stipends are inequitable.

Randolph Sinahon

Biomedical Engineering

I support a graduate worker labor union at Drexel because the uncertainty around SEPTA fare increases and cutting routes like the Trenton line make commuting to campus and traveling home to New Jersey financially and logistically stressful. I believe a graduate worker labor union would help create a platform to advocate for transportation stipends and predictable pay, providing the stability and support we need to succeed as graduate workers.

Kalisse Horne

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Graduate workers are the driving force of research at Drexel University. A labor union will ensure that graduate workers have the institutional support and compensation we need to be successful and motivated in our research.

Bryan Burnell

Physics

I’ve been lucky to have no serious issues during the first year of my PhD, besides low pay. But unlike most jobs with “employment contracts,” there’s no guarantee this will continue. A union will let me have a say in my pay and working conditions, instead of leaving them subject to the whims of Drexel’s administration. Furthermore, I support the union because it is our only way to protect international students’ rights during these precarious times.

Carolyn Spaulding

Chemical and Biological Engineering

As a lab worker my safety is not prioritized. My lab has consistently had problems with the building ventilation, resulting in strange chemical odors and uncomfortable temperatures in my workspace. Despite many reports over the years this was only partially addressed after the concern of chemicals experiencing temperature fluctuations was brought up. A union would help ensure that my safety matters more than the chemicals we work with.

Alex Jurcoi

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Being a part of a union for me means ensuring all students have equal protection and representation. As graduate students we are also graduate workers, and we have the right to negotiate the terms of our employment.

Ben Senderling

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

As grad students, we’re contractually obligated to work 20 hr a week, but expected to work 40+ hrs and mentor undergraduates in alignment with Drexel’s mission of experiential learning. With current levels of support, this is difficult. I support forming a union in order to improve the support and compensation we receive.

Olivia Cordingley

Community Health and Prevention

I support the formation of a graduate worker union at Drexel so we can collectively bargain for better health insurance and financial support. As a research assistant during my master’s program, I was a member of a graduate student union that established emergency funds for unexpected costs. When I needed surgery that wasn’t fully covered by our student insurance, my union’s emergency fund helped cover the remaining cost. I want my fellow graduate workers at Drexel to have access to that same kind of support and to have power to negotiate for comprehensive, affordable health care.

Georgie Schafer

Education

I believe a graduate student worker union is important to provide a living wage, equitable working conditions, and clear policies to support us on and off campus. During my time at Drexel, I have faced financial challenges, health concerns, and confusion around how to receive support as a student. Amidst rising costs of living and an ever-shifting national sociopolitical climate, we deserve to feel valued and safe in our dual roles as students and employees. I feel that a union will help improve access to better pay, leave policies, and necessary benefits like affordable transit and health care.

David Frank

Communication

I support graduate student unionization to strengthen protections for free speech—particularly vital for international students at this time—and to give us a meaningful voice in our health care. I also commute from outside the city, so losing Drexel’s SEPTA Key Advantage program has made travel unaffordable; access to free parking or train passes would help mitigate that burden. Finally, establishing a consistent minimum pay for teaching would recognize the value we all bring to the university. Classes taught by student workers don’t require adjunct professors. These changes would foster an equitable and supportive academic environment for all.

Hannah Smith

Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science

Graduate student compensation varies widely by department and advisor. By forming a union, we, as graduate students, can have a voice in negotiating fair wages as well as addressing our other concerns.

Gianni Anfuso

Epidemiology & Biostatistics

Drexel’s prized R1 status would not be possible without the research efforts of graduate students across the university, and we deserve to be paid fairly. While my school offers one of the more “competitive” stipends at the university, it is still not enough, and I can’t imagine living off even less. A graduate labor union is the only way we will be able to see university-wide changes in compensation. Together, we can negotiate for an increased minimum stipend so that we are fairly compensated for the research and teaching that we do.

Ann Chandler Tune

Psychological and Brain Sciences

I support a graduate worker labor union at Drexel because I want all graduate workers to have the collective ability to ensure fair and equitable working conditions across all departments. One of my fears about going to graduate school was not knowing if I would have access to consistent, quality, and dependable health insurance throughout the course of my program. A union would offer a community and collective resource to ensure the security of our benefits and advocate for not only guaranteed and reliable health insurance, but also many other important issues.

Scott McClellan

Information Science

Being a graduate student is not solely about the present but future students as well. Preserving their rights and allowing them the chance to bargain if conditions change is a necessary tool that we can achieve through forming a union.

Taylor Flynn

Neurobiology & Anatomy

As a graduate student in the college of medicine, I received one of the highest graduate student stipends at Drexel University. Despite this, my financial situation could not withstand any kind of major emergency, be that medical event, family emergency, or other outstanding financial commitment. I couldn’t imagine living off this stipend while supporting children or other family members, much less living off the smaller stipends that my fellow graduate students in other colleges receive. A graduate labor union is important to me not only for the financial benefit and security it could provide me, but because I believe in supporting all graduate students at Drexel. We are stronger together, and we all deserve to feel financially secure while we work to pursue higher education.

Jake Clarin

Neurobiology & Anatomy

As graduate students at Drexel, we serve as the backbone of the research enterprise that supports the advancement and success of the university. With rising costs of living in our city as well as mounting concerns related to issues spanning from insufficient healthcare coverage to protection for victims of harassment and misconduct, a graduate worker union could help provide greater personal and financial security for years to come.

Diana A. Lee

Management

As a graduate student, I support forming a union of all graduate workers because the current wages and benefits do not reflect our cost of living or the value of our work. Personally, I struggle to make the ends meet even though I live with my partner and share most expenses. Additionally, the inadequate healthcare provided by Drexel makes me worry about any little ache or pain I feel because I am afraid the insurance won’t cover whatever is necessary. This kind of financial stress hinders my ability to balance teaching, research, and job market prep. A union would give all graduate workers the collective power to fight for fair pay, affordable healthcare, and better working conditions—things that are essential not only for our well-being, but also for the quality of education and research at Drexel!

Jared Richards

Psychological and Brain Sciences 

Graduate students work incredibly hard as integral parts of the labor force in research, teaching and in other capacities at the university. Despite this, stipends are typically below a living wage, health insurance inadequate, and specific policies protecting and accommodating workers including disabled students, parents, and international students are limited. Rather than individually relaying concerns to our faculty hoping they will travel up the administrative ladder, a union will give the graduate student body as a whole a direct seat at the negotiating table to truly advocate for our rights and needs as workers.

Sam Kipp

Chemistry

As graduate students we teach, grade, mentor undergraduates, and conduct research that often brings funding and prestige to our institutions. Yet many of us struggle to make ends meet on stipends that haven’t kept pace with the rising cost of living. At the same time, we’re expected to manage heavy workloads that can be unpredictable and unsustainable, often without clear guidelines or recourse when expectations become unreasonable. I support the formation of a union because fair wages and reasonable workloads are not just important, they’re essential.

Weisi Zhuang

Materials Science and Engineering

As an international doctoral student, my ability to study and conduct research in the U.S. depends heavily on timely visa approvals. Changes in international relations can directly affect visa issuance, sometimes delaying my return to campus and disrupting my academic progress. To me, a union would mean having a strong support system that advocates for international students when visa challenges arise and works to ensure we can continue our studies without unnecessary obstacles. I also hope a union can advocate for dedicated family visit leave for doctoral students, which is especially important for international students who live far from home and cannot visit frequently.

Joanna Jones

Microbiology & Immunology

As graduate student workers, we are employees of the university. Despite this, our concerns about maintenance and safety issues are frequently ignored or delayed. We are also asked to work long hours under less-than-ideal conditions, and we are usually not compensated for any additional responsibilities we take on. Establishing a graduate student union would provide a unified body through which we can more effectively communicate with the university and create a safe workplace to provide the labor that has earned Drexel the reputation it currently enjoys.

Gene Anthony Santiago-Holt

Digital Media

I support a graduate worker labor union at Drexel because health insurance, including dental and vision, should be guaranteed as a basic human right. Graduate workers keep the university running through research, teaching, and service, yet many struggle with inadequate or costly coverage. Through a union, we can collectively demand comprehensive, affordable health care that recognizes our labor and protects our well-being.

Gabe Grajewski

Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering

Three years ago I had to personally lend two new international graduate students most of my savings so they had a place to live. Since then, I’ve tried to improve the onboarding process for all graduate students. I have not succeeded, even in my department, where I’m well-supported. Our best option for maintaining and improving working conditions is to unionize.

Avery Chard

Clinical Psychology

I live in the Philly suburbs, and use SEPTA Regional Rail every day that I come to campus. Recently, Drexel made the unilateral decision to cut graduate student SEPTA benefits- amounting to a $54 expense for me and others in similar situations to come to class each WEEK. I support a graduate worker labor union at Drexel to gain control over our jobs, expenses, and our lives so that Drexel can’t make huge decisions like this without our voices being heard. I love my program and being a part of things at Drexel, and I want to make sure that Drexel graduate programs continue being something that loves us back.

Tatiana Pryor

Health Services Research & Policy

I have committed to 4 years at Drexel, but the benefits that were promised to me have changed within the first term of my program. I work on multiple projects that contribute towards school funding, but due to the SEPTA program loss I cannot afford to attend my 4 days of class and in-person work. I support unions because I feel all student-workers are entitled to benefits and wages that reflect the level of work we are contributing so that we can have a livable, commutable, and enjoyable experience at Drexel.