Frequently Asked Questions

We are graduate student workers forming a union in order to improve our research and working conditions at Drexel. Our work drives both the research and academic mission at Drexel – we produce cutting-edge scientific knowledge and teach the next generation of scholars. While we work across many fields and subfields, our dedication to research and teaching unites us all.

By forming a graduate student worker union, we can build a stronger, democratic voice, with more power to negotiate for improvements and to secure our rights and working conditions into a legally-binding contract.

Forming a union with the United Auto Workers (UAW) in particular means joining tens of thousands of higher education employees who are already part of the UAW, including student workers at University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, New York University, Harvard University, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts, University of California, and University of Washington. Forming a graduate student worker union at Drexel won’t just help us improve conditions in the university–by working together with other academic unions across the country, we can build political power beyond Drexel to impact funding, visa, and other policies at the national, state, and local levels that shape our experience.

Forming a union with collective bargaining rights is the only way we have the power to negotiate on equal footing with the Drexel administration and secure agreements in a legally-binding contract. Forming a union and joining with tens of thousands of other UAW academic workers will help us have a stronger voice on key policy decisions made outside the institute that affect us as graduate student workers, such as federal funding for scientific research and federal rules affecting visa and immigrant issues.  

By joining with unionized academic workers nationwide we hope to make changes that will create more positive work environments for future graduate student workers and improve career pathways for future scientists in the US and beyond.

Collective bargaining is a process, protected by US law, that equalizes the power relationship between employees and their employer. 

Under collective bargaining, Drexel graduate student workers would elect representatives to negotiate on equal footing with the Drexel Administration and put the terms of our employment into a legally binding contract. Through collective bargaining, academic workers in the UAW have successfully negotiated improved wages and benefits, stronger protections against discrimination and harassment, expanded family-friendly benefits like paid leave and childcare subsidies, and other important provisions.

Graduate student workers started coming together to discuss forming a union back in 2022, in response to stagnant wages and confusing, inadequate leave policies. Our movement grew as we talked to more and more coworkers across the university–the UAW was a natural choice to help us form our union, given that the UAW represents more than 120,000 academic workers across the United States. Drexel graduate student workers have worked with our unionized colleagues at Penn (GETUP-UAW) to learn from their successes in forming a union at their university.

The UAW has particular experience with helping to negotiate and enforce strong student worker contracts, in both public and private universities. On the private university side, our neighbors at the University of Pennsylvania (GETUP-UAW) won their graduate worker union with a 95% yes vote in May of 2024 and are in negotiations for their first contract.  In 2022, NYC student workers at Columbia University voted by 96.7% to ratify their first contract with a majority participating, and in 2021 Harvard student workers approved their most recent contract. On the public university side, just one example is that the University of California (UC) student researchers formed a union (SRU-UAW) after a supermajority card vote in 2021, representing more than 17,000 workers. 

With active members at more than 45 major campuses across the US, the UAW has become a strong advocate on policy issues that matter to us as academics, such as federal support for science funding and enhancing the rights of international research scientists.

Both a strong union and graduate student associations can play a role in the grad worker experience at Drexel. However, GSAs have no formal bargaining power with the administration. They can share our concerns, but the school has no legal obligation to negotiate with them or address the concerns. Conversely, the university has a legal obligation to bargain with a labor union in good faith.

Drexel graduate student workers make up our union. After DRAW-UAW has been recognized by Drexel, we will start the process of negotiating a contract with the administration:

• We elect a bargaining committee from among Drexel graduate student workers;
• Based on surveys we have filled out, the committee will develop initial bargaining goals; we vote to ratify these goals;
• The committee will meet with Drexel administration representatives to negotiate in pursuit of our bargaining goals;
• When our committee has negotiated a tentative agreement with the institute they feel they can recommend, graduate student workers will vote whether to ratify it as our first contract;
• The bargaining committee will be aided throughout by experienced negotiators and other UAW representatives;
• After the contract is ratified, the membership will elect representatives who help run the local union (DRAW-UAW) and ensure that Drexel does not violate the terms of the contract, and represent members with grievances and other workplace issues.

Graduate student workers make up our union and will democratically prioritize which improvements to pursue in contract negotiations. With a union, graduate student workers will negotiate as equals with the administration for the changes we want to make. A contract will legally secure those improvements against unilateral changes by the university administration. 

Currently, the administration can change policies and benefits unilaterally, without any obligation to consult those affected. With a union, we will be able to negotiate a contract with the university administration and ultimately vote on whether to adopt it.

Student workers have negotiated improvements to their salaries, benefits, family-friendly policies, and workspace and materials; have established fair processes for addressing sexual and other forms of discrimination and harassment; and have negotiated greater job stability and protections for international student workers. 

Read more about what student workers have won at other universities:

• Graduate Employees at NYU GSOC-UAW Local 2110
• University of California Student Researchers United-UAW Local 2865
• Harvard University Student Workers HGSU-UAW Local 5118
• University of Washington Academic Student Employees UAW Local 4121
• GEU-UAW Local 6950 at UConn
• The Union for Graduate Employees at New York University (GSOC-UAW Local 7902)
• SENS-UAW New School
• Caltech Grad and Postdoc Workers

Membership dues are important because they provide the resources necessary for effective representation. We would not pay dues until we have gone through the bargaining process and voted democratically to approve our first contract. Dues are critical for providing us with independent resources that are not controlled by the institute: we use them to ensure we have appropriate legal, bargaining, community and staff support to represent all student workers. UAW membership dues are currently 1.44% of gross monthly income and can only be increased by membership action (the membership in a few local unions, for example, have voted to increase dues above 1.44% to have more resources).

No one can be required to become a member of the Union after we have a contract. In most contracts, since everyone in the bargaining unit must receive all of the benefits of the contract, non-members are generally required to pay a comparable “fair share” fee, so the cost of representation is shared equally. The inclusion of a similar provision at Drexel would be something we decide as part of our bargaining agenda, would be subject to negotiation with Drexel, and contingent on ratification as part of our contract.

Most academic worker unions have such a provision in the contract because it means we have more power and more resources available to enforce our rights under our contract, campaign for the best possible future contracts with the administration and help other academic workers form their own unions. Under the UAW, there is a one-time initiation fee, which ranges from $10 to $50 and is determined democratically in local union bylaws approved by members.

The value of increased wages and benefits in the first contract typically outweighs the cost of dues, often leading to overwhelming majority approval of those agreements.

It takes resources to have a strong union, from the earliest stages of forming a union for the first time, to bargaining and campaigning for the first contract, to enforcing rights under an existing contract, and advocating on policy issues that matter to membership.  Dues generally cover all of the day to day costs to have a strong union, including paying for legal representation, staffing, rent, equipment, and supplies.  

Most of the day-to-day work enforcing the contract and representing our membership is provided by the local union (DRAW-UAW). Under the UAW Constitution, the Local Union keeps 27% of dues money to support its expenses: staffing for representation, rent, equipment, supplies, etc.  The rest of the dues is allocated to the International Union’s General Fund (26%), Strike and Defense Fund (44%), and Community Action Program (CAP) (3%). Drexel student workers would be supported by these funds as described below.  Depending on the overall financial health of the Strike and Defense Fund (if its net worth is $500M or greater), an additional allocation of dues called a “rebate” is given back to the Local and International Union. So, in typical months, the portion of dues retained by the local union is roughly 37%.

For some great examples of UAW local union helping workers defend their rights, see this summary of successful grievance handling at the University of Washington, or these stories about unionized postdocs fighting pregnancy discrimination at the University of California, or how graduate assistants at UConn took on sexual harassment.

The portion of dues allocated to the UAW would support Drexel student workers in the following ways:

• Technical experts to help negotiate on equal terms with Drexel:
• Health insurance experts who can take on the institutions consultants in order to pursue the best benefits for the best price
• Researchers who can help analyze institute finances.
• Legal advice where necessary
• Experienced negotiators to help achieve our goals, both at the bargaining table and in terms of developing an overall campaign to win a strong contract
• Support for new organizing campaigns (for example, the resources supporting DRAW-UAW come from existing UAW members’ dues)
• Political action: 3 percent of dues go toward the UAW Community Action Program (CAP), which supports progressive community and political action, including legislative and other policy advocacy on issues that matter to UAW members. For example, the UAW advocates strongly for fair, comprehensive immigration reform and expanded federal support for research funding, among other topics. [NOTE: legally, dues money cannot be used for federal campaign contributions, such as the presidential race—that money comes from members’ voluntary contributions to the UAW Voluntary Community Action Program or V-CAP, which is separate from, and in addition to, dues.]

We aim to form a union of all stipend-eligible graduate student workers performing teaching or research work at Drexel University, including PhD, MD/PhD, and JD/PhD student workers.

With roughly 100,000 academic workers, the UAW has become a powerful organization advocating  to improve conditions for international scholars and students. For years the UAW has fought hard to ensure that the contributions of guest workers are elevated and that the terms and conditions of their employment are improved. Recently the UAW helped lead the fight against Executive Orders issued by former President Trump that targeted international scholars and students.

In October of 2020, UAW Academic Workers mobilized against a proposed rule by ICE to shorten visa stays for international scholars; thousands of public comments were submitted, including by the President of the UAW International. In July of 2020, thanks to direct action by UAW Academic Workers across the country, in addition to efforts by allies at universities and in government, ICE backed down from its directive to deport international students taking online classes due to COVID-19. In 2017, the UAW International filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case challenging the Trump administration’s travel ban. The UAW also helped lead the fight to enhance the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program as an important path for international grad student workers to work in the US after completion of their PhD.

UAW academic unions also provide more resources for researchers on visas at the local level. Columbia University postdocs have used their union to fight for international researchers who could not return to the US during the COVID-19 pandemic to be able to work remotely and, more recently, put pressure on the Columbia administration and engaged allies in Congress to support researchers stranded abroad. For more information, see the international student page.

International graduate student workers have the same legal right to join a union as US citizens. International graduate student workers have been instrumental in organizing and running the University of California student researchers union (UAW Local 4811) and the Student Workers of Columbia (SWC-UAW Local 2710). Unionization can result in protections that are especially valuable for international academic employees.

Visa requirements in no way compromise any graduate student worker’s right to belong to a union in a US workplace. No academic union members have ever reported any complications arising from being both an International researcher and a unionized employee. For more information, see the international student page.

Because all decisions about our union will be made by graduate student workers, we will collectively decide what to propose in bargaining and, ultimately, vote whether to approve any agreement as a contract. With a union, we will have greater access to Drexel’s financial information that affects grad student workers, which will make it possible for us to be well-informed and conscientious as we engage in bargaining.  

Both graduate student workers and the university administration have to agree on a contract and we all share an interest in preserving the quality of research happening at Drexel. Collective bargaining simply means we can negotiate on equal footing in order to hold Drexel more accountable to do the best it can do.

Once a union is formed, Drexel cannot unilaterally alter any terms and conditions of employment—including pay and benefits. Instead, changes to pay and benefits and other terms and conditions of employment are subject to collective bargaining, through which Drexel administrators must negotiate in good faith with grad student workers, and student workers will democratically approve a binding, enforceable contract containing those terms and conditions.

The length of time necessary to negotiate a strong first contract has depended on the strength of the campaign and the willingness of the employer to bargain in good faith. Drexel could help ensure a timely process by agreeing on a fair and efficient timeframe with regularly scheduled bargaining sessions and a strong commitment to reaching a fair agreement. 

At other major research institutions where grad student workers have formed unions, student workers have been able to negotiate significant improvements despite facing opposition from their employers. Postdocs at Columbia University, University of Connecticut, University of Washington, and University of California negotiated for 16 months, 13 months, 13 months, and 18 months respectively. But it is also possible to negotiate much more quickly. For example, with a serious commitment to reach a fair agreement by the administration, 4,000 student employees at the University of Washington negotiated their first contract in just under two months.

Graduate student workers will democratically decide how we want to negotiate pay, but no academic worker contract has ever stipulated that all workers must be paid the same. Instead, UAW academic contracts have established minimum rights on different aspects of researcher working conditions, while preserving the ability of PIs and student workers to negotiate above those minimums.

At both Columbia and the University of California, for example, graduate student workers negotiated pay scales that guarantee minimum stipends but stipulate that the institution may pay more.

Currently, the Drexel administration determines graduate student worker pay rates and benefits unilaterally, and those rates – as well as projected increases – can be factored into grant proposals to agencies like the NIH. With collective bargaining, we would negotiate as equals with Drexel over improvements to our pay rates, which would continue to be factored into grant proposals. Student researchers at Columbia University, University of Washington, and University of California, have used this process to negotiate guaranteed annual increases to their pay rates through collective bargaining. Without a union, we have no say in Drexel’s financial priorities. With a union, we do.

As a union, student workers will be negotiating with the institute, not with our PIs and supervisors, because it is the institute’s policies that define the conditions of our employment. Moreover, student workers will set the bargaining agenda and decide what improvements to prioritize in collective bargaining.

A union contract would only create limitations if democratically decided by student workers. And forming a union would mean that Drexel administration cannot make unilateral changes to working conditions that Drexel student workers want to preserve. 

With a union, all union decisions – including the decision about whether or not to strike – will be made democratically by bargaining unit researchers. With a union, researchers will collectively decide what to ask for in bargaining and whether or not a strike is necessary.

A strike is a very powerful tool for unionized workers, but a strike would only occur if union members decide a strike is necessary. The decision to strike is made collectively; under the UAW Constitution, two-thirds of workers participating in a strike authorization vote must vote yes in order to authorize a strike. While a strike is most effective if we all participate, it is an individual decision whether or not to do so.

While strikes are rare, it is not uncommon that workers decide it is necessary to prepare for a possible strike in order to convince a university to reach a reasonable agreement during negotiations. At the University of California, for example, the academic researcher union in UAW Local 5810, reached an agreement with the administration after a majority of researchers voted to authorize a strike. In 2014, the NYU teaching assistant student union, GSOC-UAW Local 2110, reached an agreement with NYU after a majority of graduate employees authorized the bargaining committee to call a strike if they deemed one necessary. Columbia postdocs won their first contract shortly after hundreds of postdocs informed the administration that they would start preparing for a strike authorization vote if Columbia did not make greater progress in contract negotiations.

In 2021, in response to stalled contract negotiations, 96% of voting GSOC members authorized the bargaining committee to set a strike deadline, and GSOC members went on strike for three weeks at the end of spring semester before a tentative agreement was reached. The resulting contract, ratified by 99% of GSOC voters, included a 30% increase in the rate for hourly workers and a significant expansion of health and childcare benefits.

In the fall of 2022, 48,000 UC academic workers including student researchers, postdocs, and academic researchers went on strike to win improvements to pay, benefits, and workplace rights. Student researchers, academic researchers, and postdocs voted to ratify their contracts by 69%, 79.5%, and 89.4% respectively.