Student Unionization Efforts Stall Under Trump Administration
Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images- Experts don’t expect any new student unions to be formed at private universities over the next four years.
- Donald Trump’s presidency likely will not, however, affect unionization efforts at public colleges.
- Some unions have already withdrawn petitions to be formally recognized by the federal government.
- Still, the future of student unions is unclear.
Aspiring student unions have withdrawn petitions to unionize in recent months, a sign of what’s to come under President Donald Trump’s second administration.
Student groups revoked at least five National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) petitions to form a graduate or undergraduate student union since November, according to research from the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions (NCSCBHEP).
Withdrawing these petitions may temporarily protect students’ right to collectively bargain but potentially at the expense of current students employed by their institution.
William Herbert, executive director of the NCSCBHEP, told BestColleges this will likely remain a trend for students at private colleges and universities.
“The fact that these petitions have been withdrawn is not turning the switch off,” he said. “It’s a strategic retreat.”
He explained that students at public colleges and universities file collective bargaining petitions through the state, not the NLRB. Therefore, the Trump administration shouldn’t impact organizing activities at public institutions.
Echoes of the First Trump Administration
Students withdrawing union petitions shouldn’t come as a complete shock.
Graduate and undergraduate student unions took the same measure before Trump took office in 2017, Herbert said. This meant Trump’s NLRB never got a chance to review a case involving student workers, and thus his administration wasn’t able to end student unionization efforts broadly by overturning the 2016 NLRB decision that recognized Columbia University students as employees.
There was a short downturn in new bargaining units, but a sharp uptick under President Joe Biden.
United Student Workers of Berea-CWA, formed to represent student workers at Berea College in Kentucky, withdrew its NLRB petition recently.
Tatiana Alba, a student and organizing committee member at Berea, told BestColleges that it became apparent after the presidential election that withdrawing the petition was in the best interest of the “power of student workers,” not just at Berea College but also at other institutions.
“On one hand, I was disappointed,” she said, “but on the flip side, changing the strategy allowed us to view our union outside of just the student workers [to include] all campus workers at Berea.”
These organizers are now shifting focus to working with United Campus Workers of Kentucky, an employees union representing faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate workers across the state.
A lack of recognition from the NLRB won’t deter student advocacy, Alba said. While Berea College may not voluntarily recognize students as workers, students have narrowed their focus to two issues that are most important to them: sick leave and anti-harassment measures.
“Our power does not come from what the government says we can and cannot do,” she said.
“A lot of people cannot rely on the government to protect them, that can only be done through community.”
Impact on Existing Student Unions
There were an estimated 150,000 graduate students represented by unions by the start of 2024.
Existing unions at private institutions will be able to continue to function moving forward, Herbert said, though they may not have full access to all the tools normally at their disposal.
The NLRB handles unfair labor practice disputes between a union and an employer. Filing a dispute, however, would again run the risk of giving the Trump administration a chance to overturn the Columbia decision and end all graduate student unions at private institutions, he said.
This will make bargaining future contracts difficult. He said institutions would need to willingly come to the bargaining table to create new contracts, but they can’t be legally compelled to unless student groups go to the NLRB.
Existing contracts won’t be affected.
Herbert said unions will still be able to work with a third-party arbitrator in instances where institutions aren’t abiding by contracts agreed upon by both parties. Student unions do not need to involve the NLRB in these instances.
Future Of Student Unions Still in Doubt
Student unions may not be safe under Trump, even if no cases come to the NLRB for consideration.
Herbert explained that the NLRB could overturn the legality of graduate and undergraduate student unions through a formal rulemaking process. Essentially, the NLRB could draft new regulations, put those regulations up for public comment, and then institute new rules even without a case to consider.
The first Trump administration tried to do this, he said, but failed to finalize the new regulations before Biden took office.
It’s unclear whether Trump will try this method again.
Currently, there is no quorum at the NLRB after Trump terminated board member Gwynne Wilcox. The board won’t be able to make any changes until a new member is approved, Herbert said.
“We’re still watching and waiting to see who Trump appoints,” he said.