TL;DR: In the National Labor Relations Board hearings, Sinai argued that graduate student workers are not employees and are therefore ineligible for collective bargaining. However, we strongly assert that we are both students and employees, as we receive direct compensation for work that contributes to Sinai’s mission. We firmly believe in our roles as scientists and researchers who continually learn throughout our careers.
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Recap of the NLRB Hearing. Our hearing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) took place from July 6 to 13. The purpose of the hearing was for the labor board to hear arguments about the composition of our bargaining unit – essentially, determining who will have the right to vote in a union election, negotiate, and benefit from a contract.
The hearing commenced with the presentations of statements of position by Sinai’s lawyers and our own lawyers regarding the appropriate bargaining unit. Our lawyers firmly asserted that any student receiving compensation for research or instructional services should be recognized as an employee and included in our bargaining unit. However, Mount Sinai’s lawyers contended that graduate workers, including ourselves, do not qualify as “employees,” and therefore should be denied the right to vote on unionization and bargain. This stance contradicts established precedent, as demonstrated by our graduate worker colleagues at Columbia in 2016, who successfully affirmed the right of graduate researchers and teaching assistants to form unions.
Furthermore, Sinai’s lawyers argued that even if the NLRB were to uphold the existing precedent, students who receive grants under their own name (such as an F31 grant from the NIH), first-year students, and individuals in any instructional position (such as teaching assistants) should still be excluded from the right to unionize with us. These efforts to exclude specific categories of student workers from our bargaining unit represent a deliberate attempt to diminish our collective power as a union.
In order to argue that we are not employees, Sinai’s lawyers claimed that (1) our research is voluntary and self directed for our dissertations, (2) we are never required to perform any specific task, whether towards a grant, or otherwise, in order to continue to receive our stipend, and (3) we are not required to do a single thing outside of our academic program in order to receive our stipend. Over the course of the hearing, Sinai’s legal counsel called witnesses from the graduate school administration and faculty to testify in support of these claims. As student workers who listened to this testimony, we found it deeply disappointing and frustrating to hear these witnesses downplay our scientific contributions and expertise in service of Sinai’s goal to deny us the right to unionize.
However, we believe that overall, the evidence presented in the hearing strongly supports our argument that we are indeed employees, regardless of how we are funded and whether we are first-year students or TAs. Our lawyers pointed out that we are directly compensated for research performed, that our research serves to further the stated mission of the Icahn School of Medicine to “advance science and medicine,” and we conduct this research under the direction and supervision of members of faculty employed by the university. These are the standards that have been used in the Columbia case and many others to determine that student workers are indeed employees.
On August 3, we will submit written arguments as to why we deserve the right to vote in a secret ballot election for union representation. Following this, the NLRB regional director will review documents and make a decision. The decision could take weeks to months – regardless, Mount Sinai is still free to agree to a fair process to verify our majority support and recognize our union at any point. Over 80% of us signed cards in support of unionization, and we can leverage this overwhelming majority of support to get Sinai to quit their anti-union tactics and recognize us. While awaiting the NLRB decision, we will organize multiple actions to demonstrate this power.
We urge Faculty and MTA directors who recognize our research contributions to Mount Sinai to support our right to unionize. This call comes in direct response to the testimony from graduate school Deans during the hearing, claiming that we enter the program without prior expertise or experience and that 100% of our research efforts are solely dedicated to our dissertations.
As Sinai employees, we play a critical role in producing the research that makes this a world-renowned institution, and we intend to fight for our right to have a say over our working conditions. To get more involved in building our union, fill out this form. You can read Sinai’s full statement of position here.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or concerns. Feel free to reply directly to this email, and a fellow student worker will be in touch.
Remember, research works because we do!
Sam McConnell, Neuroscience
Carina Seah, Genomics and Genetic Sciences
SSW-UAW Organizing Committee
For updates on our union, check out sinaistudentworkers.org and take a minute to like and follow us on Twitter.
