After Your PhD LLC

How to Start a Union at a University

This site is called After Your PhD, but what happens before you finish matters just as much. The financial situation for graduate workers is genuinely bad across the country right now, and it’s one of the biggest reasons people leave their programs — not because they can’t handle the coursework or the research, but because they can’t handle the rent. You can’t build a career on a stipend that doesn’t cover groceries, and no amount of passion for your field changes that math. When I was a PhD candidate, my stipend came out to about $15,000 a year.

Adjunct instructors are often paid $2,500 to $5,000 per course, with a national median landing around $4,000–$5,000 per three-credit class. Teach six courses a year, which is a common full load spread across two semesters, and you’re looking at roughly $24,000–$30,000 annually, with no health insurance, no retirement contribution, no office, and often no guarantee you’ll be rehired next term.

Why People Organize: The Real Benefits

Unionizing isn’t a magic fix, and it isn’t free in some cases. But data and lived experience point to consistent gains where grad workers and adjuncts have organized:

  • Higher pay. Unionized graduate student workers at public universities report higher pay and more support than their non-union peers at comparable schools.
  • Health coverage. Many grad worker and adjunct contracts have won employer-subsidized health insurance — often the single biggest financial relief in a first contract.
  • Job security and due process. Instead of a verbal “we’ll see” about next semester’s contract, union agreements can require notice periods, seniority consideration, and a grievance process if you’re let go.
  • Predictable raises. Contracts often include guaranteed annual increases instead of pay that stagnates for a decade.
  • A actual voice. Instead of individually emailing a department chair and hoping, you bargain collectively — which is a fundamentally different power dynamic.
  • Protection from retaliation. Once you’re in a legally recognized bargaining unit, the university can’t legally punish you for organizing or filing a grievance.

None of this happens automatically. It happens because people build a union from scratch, or join one that already exists.

The Logistics: How to Actually Start One

Every campaign looks a little different, but most successful ones follow a similar arc.

1. Know your legal category first

This matters more than almost anything else, because it determines which process applies to you:

  • Public university employees (grad workers, adjuncts, postdocs) are governed by state law, not federal law. Some states (California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, and others) have strong public-sector bargaining laws. A handful of states restrict or prohibit public employee collective bargaining entirely. Check your state’s public employee relations board.
  • Private university employees fall under the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). As of 2026, the controlling precedent (Columbia University, 2016, reaffirmed in later cases) holds that grad student workers who are paid for services like teaching or research are statutory “employees” with the right to unionize. That said, this area of law has flipped multiple times since 2000 depending on the political makeup of the Board, and recent signals — including a 2026 move by the NIH to withdraw recognition from a federal researchers’ union — suggest this precedent could face renewed challenges. Confirm current status with a labor attorney or your prospective union before filing.
  • Adjuncts are typically classified as employees under standard labor law (they’re clearly compensated for teaching, not receiving an “educational” stipend), which generally makes their path more straightforward than the grad-student-as-student-vs-employee debate.

2. Build an organizing committee before going public

Before anyone contacts HR or administration, a small group of trusted colleagues across departments usually starts meeting privately to gauge interest, map out who’s respected in each department, and identify likely allies and likely opponents. This is the quiet, unglamorous phase — and it’s the one that determines whether the campaign survives contact with management.

3. Talk to an existing union

Almost no one starts completely from scratch. National unions that specifically organize higher ed workers include:

  • United Auto Workers (UAW) — represents grad workers at Columbia, Harvard, MIT, UC system, and dozens of others
  • American Federation of Teachers (AFT) — represents adjuncts and grad workers at many campuses
  • Service Employees International Union (SEIU) — active in adjunct and higher-ed organizing
  • American Association of University Professors (AAUP) — represents faculty, including some adjuncts, and often partners with AFT

These unions provide organizers, legal support, and a template contract to work from. Most grad and adjunct unions affiliate with one of these rather than forming a fully independent union, because the legal and logistical lift of doing it alone is substantial.

4. Collect authorization cards

Once there’s real interest, organizers collect signed cards (physical or digital) from coworkers stating they want union representation. You typically need signatures from 30% of the bargaining unit to legally petition for an election, but experienced organizers almost always aim for a supermajority (60–70%+) before filing, because campaigns lose support during the employer’s response period, and management will likely run a counter-campaign.

5. File for recognition

Two paths here:

  • Voluntary recognition: the university agrees to recognize the union without an election. Rare, but it happens, especially at institutions where organizing is already widespread in higher ed.
  • NLRB or state board election: you file a petition, the board schedules a secret-ballot election, and if a majority of those who vote say yes, the union is certified.

6. Expect an employer response

Universities frequently hire labor consultants and hold mandatory “captive audience” meetings to discourage unionizing (legality of these meetings varies and has been shifting — another reason to have a union or attorney guiding you through this stage). Staying organized and communicating honestly with coworkers matters more here than at almost any other point.

7. Bargain your first contract

Winning the election is the beginning, not the end. First contracts commonly take one to two years to negotiate. This is normal — universities often slow-walk the first contract specifically to test whether the union will hold together. It usually does, but be ready for it to take a while.

If You’re Already in a Union: Adjuncts, Grad Workers, and Professors

This section is for you if you’re currently represented and want to share what worked, what didn’t, or what you wish you’d known before your campaign started.

A few things worth documenting if you’re willing to share your experience (in the comments, or reach out directly):

  • What union you’re part of, and whether it’s public- or private-sector
  • How long your first contract took to negotiate
  • What your biggest win was (pay, healthcare, job security, grievance process)
  • What you’d tell someone starting a campaign from zero
  • Any resources, templates, or contacts that were genuinely useful

If you’re a tenure-track or tenured professor in a faculty union, your experience is also valuable here — faculty unions (often through AAUP or AFT) operate a bit differently from grad worker units, and hearing how bargaining works at that level helps people considering whether to organize their own faculty.

Notable Campus-Specific Unions

  • UAW 2865 — University of California academic student employees (TAs, GSRs, tutors, readers)
  • UAW 4811 — UC system academic student researchers
  • UAW 7902 — NYU adjunct faculty, grad workers, and student health employees
  • UAW 4121 — University of Washington academic student employees
  • GWC-UAW Local 2110 — Graduate Workers of Columbia University
  • Harvard Graduate Students Union (HGSU-UAW)
  • SEIU Local 500 — American University adjunct faculty
  • SEIU Local 200United — Fordham, Siena, and Saint Michael’s adjunct/non-tenure faculty

Sources

Disclaimer: After Your PhD is an independent website and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or acting on behalf of any labor union, university, or the National Labor Relations Board. This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Labor law varies by state and by employer type (public vs. private institution), and it changes over time. Before starting an organizing effort, consult with a labor attorney, a national union (such as the AFT, UAW, SEIU, or AAUP), or your state’s public employee labor board for guidance specific to your situation.