Duke graduate workers file for union election

Last week, Duke's graduate student workers took the first step to forming a labor union by filing a recognition petition with the National Labor Relations Board. Patterson Harkavy attorneys Mike Okun, Narendra Ghosh, and Paul Smith represent the student workers.

In August, the National Labor Relations Board recognized that students employed by their universities were "employees" with the ability to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act. Many of Duke's graduate students are employed by the university as instructors, teaching assistants, and research assistants. Duke's graduate workers are among the first in the nation to take advantage of the National Labor Relations Board's recent decision. Click here for more information about the student workers' unionization campaign.

Earlier this year, Patterson Harkavy represented a large segment of Duke's non-tenure-track faculty in their own unionization campaign. The faculty won their union election with approximately 85% of the vote.