By Keith Burbank. Bay City News.
Stanford University graduate students who teach or do research are now represented by a union, according to the Stanford Graduate Workers Union.
94 percent of Stanford graduating students voted to form the union, according to union organizers citing results released Thursday by the National Labor Relations Board.
“The overwhelming margin of victory in this historic election shows we have broad support for our platform of higher wages that keep up with the cost of living and greater protections for graduate workers,” said Chris Gustin, a PhD student at fourth year in the department of applied physics.
"We are excited to begin working to negotiate a first contract with Stanford that can achieve these goals," added Gustin.
Stanford joins other prestigious universities like Johns Hopkins University, Dartmouth and the University of Chicago, where graduating students have formed unions.
Stanford graduate workers aim to negotiate stipends that keep up with the cost of living, avoid abuse from supervisors and, among other things, address the high cost of child care and dependent health care.
You may be interested in: Hispanic Entrepreneurs Awarded After Completing Entrepreneurial Program
