BOSTON ― U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has urged Harvard University to let graduate students who work as research and teaching assistants form collective bargaining units.
Warren and fellow Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Markey sent a letter Monday to Harvard President Drew Faust, saying the students have helped make Harvard an academic world leader. They said giving students the right to collective bargaining will help them continue their work.
“University administrators worldwide look to Harvard as a model for their own universities,” the letter states. “If Harvard welcomes graduate research and teaching assistants who desire to organize for improved workplace policies, a new standard of care may emerge.”
Warren is a former Harvard Law School professor.
A university spokeswoman said Harvard believes the relationship between graduate students and a university is fundamentally about education, not employment ― and that their graduate students are “engaged, valued, and supported as a critical part of the learning, teaching, and research” that takes place at Harvard.
“We will continue to encourage an open conversation about graduate student unionization because it could profoundly affect both graduate students and the University’s educational mission,” added Anna Cowenhoven, director of communications for Harvard.
The National Labor Relations Board is considering arguments that graduates assistants are not just students, but also school employees.
