Dear President Bendapudi and Dean Esters,
We, the undersigned, write as graduate assistants at Penn State University and as a part of the Coalition of Graduate Employees at Penn State-UAW (CGE-UAW). We are the majority of Research Assistants and Trainees who want to exercise our democratic right to form a union, as well as Teaching Assistants who stand with our coworkers. Our work, in all roles, contributes to Penn State’s mission to advance knowledge, research, and innovation.
We are disappointed that the university administration has chosen to object to the employee status of Research Assistants and Trainees and in doing so has disregarded the clear precedent set by the 2017 Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) ruling that determined all graduate assistants—including Research Assistants and Trainees—have the right to unionize. Forcing an unnecessary hearing to re-litigate this issue will significantly delay our union vote and progress toward a fair contract.
When we filed union authorization cards in December, graduate workers anticipated threats to our livelihood from the Trump administration and urged you to let us vote to form our union so we could secure the power and security guaranteed by a union contract to protect ourselves. Instead, your offices have chosen to delay the process, putting us in greater danger and leaving us to fend for ourselves in the face of crises on all fronts – from cuts to federal DEI programs and NIH research funding, to the revocation of graduate worker visas.
President Bendapudi and Dean Esters, we ask that you withdraw your objection and recognize the right of Research Assistants and Trainees to unionize. Instead of delaying our election and using the university budget for unneccessary legal fees, we ask that you respect the will of the majority who want to form a union. We are ready to freely and fairly vote on establishing a union that includes all of us.
Sincerely,