WHAT THE NLRB GIVETH THE NLRB TAKETH AWAY: CONTRASTING VIEWS CONCERNING GRADUATE STUDENT UNIONS
Abstract
This article considers two issues. First, Part I deals with the following topics: what are the practices and procedures and the National Labor Relations Board in determining questions relating to the certification process and the appropriateness of any proposed bargaining unit in the context of graduate students serving as research and teaching assistants? The second issue found in Part II revolves around the following question: Are these teaching assistants, research assistants, and graduate assistants employees for the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act. Part III offers some commentary on how the Board may have resolved these issues in the context of current labor relations in the United States. The thesis of the paper may be summed up as follows: “What the Board Giveth, the Board Can Taketh Away…”