As Vanderbilt grad students approach a union vote, administrators stress alternatives

As graduate students at Vanderbilt University near the number of signatures they need for a vote to unionize, the university maintains that grad students are not considered employees under federal law.

In a staff-wide email shared with WPLN News, the university told its employees that grad students do not count as workers because “their activities are integral to their education rather than performed in exchange for compensation.”

More: Vanderbilt graduate student competing at the Olympics says she can’t afford rent.

That guidance runs counter to a decision from the National Labor Relations Board. In 2016, the NLRB ruled in favor of graduate students at Columbia University, recognizing their ability to form a union and receive compensation for their work. In an email to WPLN, a spokesperson for the NLRB confirmed the ruling was still in effect.

“We make up the bulk of the teaching assistants. We are research assistants. We produce a lot of revenue and support for the university,” said Jade Miller, a grad student organizer on Vanderbilt’s campus.

A strong majority of students have already signed onto the union effort, Miller said. The plan is to certify their union with the NLRB in the coming months.

“We want better wages,” said grad student Langston Cotman. “As workers, we are not getting a living wage that takes into account cost of living in Nashville.”

Grad students said they also want a more consistent health care plan and more protections for international students.

“We want, generally, to have a voice at the table with admin (that) we don’t think we have right now,” Langston said.

In a statement to WPLN News, Vanderbilt said that its graduate students enjoy a vibrant and collaborative academic environment.

“We believe that collaborative environment would be stifled in a unionized employer-employee relationship,” the statement said. “We are committed to our graduate students furthering their education, and to supporting them while they do so; we believe the current flexible and individualized structure is the best way to do so.”

As organizers like Langston and Miller hold conversations with students about the benefits of a union, Vanderbilt’s staff will be hosting Q&As this semester on the alternatives to unionizing.

The university also hosts a website labeled “Union Facts.” The landing page reads, “The goal of this site is to provide facts and allow graduate students to make informed decisions. We believe that when our graduate students have all of the facts, they will recognize that they already have an effective voice at Vanderbilt — as individuals and through the elected Graduate Student Council — and do not need a union.”