Democrats vote to allow grad student research assistants to unionize

Michigan Senate Democrats passed legislation Wednesday to classify graduate student research assistants at public universities as public employees entitled to collective bargaining rights.

Senate Bill 185 passed on a party-line vote.

Bill sponsor state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, said Michigan's research assistants support Michigan's economy by bringing billions of research dollars to the state.

"I'll tell you, I've seen these people's work, they certainly look like employees," he said. "They ought to have the same rights as other employees."

Why can't Michigan's graduate student researchers collectively bargain?

A 2012 change to Michigan's Public Employment Relations Act approved by former Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, prevented graduate student research assistants from organizing. Snyder approved the legislation amid a unionization drive among graduate student research assistants at the University of Michigan.

"While graduate student research assistants provide valuable efforts for universities, they are students first and foremost," Snyder said in a statement at the time. "Considering them to be public employees with union representation would alter the nature of the critical relationship between students and teachers, and risk the educational mission of universities."

Irwin called it a "dirty move" in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday in support of his bill.

"So what this bill will do is go back and will right that wrong of 10 years ago when this Legislature rushed to prevent a group of people from collectively bargaining and realizing their voice as a group," he said.

GOP opposition to restoring graduate student research assistants' right to collectively bargain

Sen. Kevin Daley, R-Lum, said the bill would hurt higher education in the state. "This legislation shows that in the eyes of the Democrats no industry is safe from misguided government interference," he said in a floor speech.

Republican lawmakers put forward a couple of amendments to the bill before voting against it.

The Graduate Employees' Organization at the University of Michigan has been on strike for about a month, demanding better pay and benefits. State Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, suggested that the strike has led to learning losses and introduced an amendment he said would allow students to recover some tuition expenses during a strike by university employees. His amendment failed.

Another change proposed to the bill Democrats voted down would have required informing graduate student research assistants of a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing public sector employees to avoid union fees, according to state Sen. Roger Hauck, R-Mt. Pleasant, who introduced the amendment. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last month signed into law a bill that would repeal right-to-work for public employees in the event the court overturns its decision.

The bill passed Wednesday has no direct fiscal impact on the state, according to a bill analysis from the Senate Fiscal Agency. It depends on whether graduate student research assistants take advantage of the proposed collective bargaining rights and the demands they might make for better pay and benefits.

What happens next?

Lawmakers in the Michigan House must approve the legislation before it can head to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature.

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Dems vote to allow grad student RAs to unionize