Johns Hopkins PhD students vote in favor of unionization

PhD student workers at Johns Hopkins University voted overwhelmingly in favor of union representation this week, opting to make Teachers and Researchers United–United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (TRU-UE) their exclusive representative for the purposes of collective bargaining.

In voting held by the National Labor Relations Board at three Hopkins campuses on Monday and Tuesday, 2,053 students voted in favor of unionization and 67 voted against. Approximately 3,200 student workers across JHU's 65 PhD programs will be represented by TRU-UE in collective bargaining with the university.

"We look forward to working together with TRU-UE to negotiate a first collective bargaining agreement over the coming weeks and months," Sunil Kumar, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, and Nancy Kass, vice provost for graduate and professional education, wrote in a message to the university community today. "As the birthplace of doctoral education in America, we recognize this as an opportunity to ensure JHU continues to build on its legacy of not only providing world-class doctoral education and training but developing innovative new approaches to supporting our PhD students in achieving personal and professional success."

The unionization of Hopkins PhD students is part of a growing national trend. Graduate students at Yale and Boston University voted to unionize within the past month and a half, joining successful recent unionization efforts at Columbia, Harvard, Georgetown, and many other universities.