The University has prepared the responses below to answer some of the questions that members of the University community may have about the collective bargaining process generally and the collective bargaining that is occurring between the University and the union representing the University’s graduate and professional students, GETUP-UAW.
What is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining in the process by which an employer and a union representing employees negotiate a written contract called a collective bargaining agreement. This process begins after a union is certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of employees in a bargaining unit.
What is a collective bargaining agreement?
A collective bargaining agreement is a written contract between an employer and a union representing employees. A collective bargaining agreement can also be referred to as a union contract.
Why is GETUP-UAW engaged in collective bargaining with the University?
In Fall 2023, GETUP-UAW filed a petition with the NLRB seeking to represent the University’s graduate and professional students. On May 1 and 2, 2024, the NLRB held a secret ballot election in which members of the bargaining unit voted on whether they wanted to be represented by GETUP-UAW. The vote was in favor of unionization and so, following the NLRB’s certification of the election result, GETUP-UAW became the exclusive bargaining representative for all members of the bargaining unit.
When does collective bargaining begin following a union election?
Only the union can initiate the collective bargaining process by making a demand for bargaining to the employer. Although the NLRB certified the election results at Penn in May 2024, GETUP-UAW did not make a demand for bargaining until September 17, 2024. The first bargaining session was held on October 17, 2024.
Who is in the bargaining unit?
The bargaining unit includes all graduate and professional students who provide research or instructional services for the University in Philadelphia, including those who serve as Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Research Assistants, Research Fellows, Pre-Doctoral Trainees, and Student Workers.The University has prepared the responses below to answer some of the questions that members of the University community may have about the collective bargaining process generally and the collective bargaining that is occurring between the University and the union representing the University’s graduate and professional students, GETUP-UAW.
What is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining in the process by which an employer and a union representing employees negotiate a written contract called a collective bargaining agreement. This process begins after a union is certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of employees in a bargaining unit.
What is a collective bargaining agreement?
A collective bargaining agreement is a written contract between an employer and a union representing employees. A collective bargaining agreement can also be referred to as a union contract.
Why is GETUP-UAW engaged in collective bargaining with the University?
In Fall 2023, GETUP-UAW filed a petition with the NLRB seeking to represent the University’s graduate and professional students. On May 1 and 2, 2024, the NLRB held a secret ballot election in which members of the bargaining unit voted on whether they wanted to be represented by GETUP-UAW. The vote was in favor of unionization and so, following the NLRB’s certification of the election result, GETUP-UAW became the exclusive bargaining representative for all members of the bargaining unit.
When does collective bargaining begin following a union election?
Only the union can initiate the collective bargaining process by making a demand for bargaining to the employer. Although the NLRB certified the election results at Penn in May 2024, GETUP-UAW did not make a demand for bargaining until September 17, 2024. The first bargaining session was held on October 17, 2024.
Who is in the bargaining unit?
The bargaining unit includes all graduate and professional students who provide research or instructional services for the University in Philadelphia, including those who serve as Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Research Assistants, Research Fellows, Pre-Doctoral Trainees, and Student Workers.
Excluded from the unit are:
- Students pursuing professional degrees in the Perelman School of Medicine, the School of Dental Medicine, and the School of Veterinary Medicine, with the exception of professional students in those Schools who are pursuing a joint degree and who qualify for inclusion by virtue of their research or instructional service to the University in conjunction with their other graduate or professional program
- Educational Fellowship Recipients*
- Guards
- Supervisors
- All other employees
Graduate and professional students may be included in the bargaining unit in some semesters and excluded from the bargaining unit in other semesters depending on whether they are providing research or instructional services at that time.
*There is an unresolved question as to whether Educational Fellowship Recipients in lab rotations in the first year of the Biology PhD Program and the first and second years of the Biomedical Graduate Studies PhD Program are included in or excluded from the bargaining unit. All other Educational Fellowship Recipients are excluded.
Who is negotiating the collective bargaining agreement between the University and the union?
The University and the union have each selected a bargaining team to carry out the negotiations.
What happens during negotiations?
Both the University and the union exchange proposals and counter-proposals for provisions to include in the collective bargaining agreement. Significant time is spent reviewing those proposals and counter-proposals, asking questions about them, and discussing them. Both sides are obligated to negotiate in good faith, but there is no obligation on either side to agree to any specific proposal. The goal is to come to a tentative collective bargaining agreement, and then the union’s membership votes on whether to ratify the agreement. If it is ratified, then the collective bargaining agreement becomes effective.
How often do the negotiating teams meet?
There is no requirement that collective bargaining sessions occur at particular intervals or last for any particular period of time. The University and the union have been meeting regularly in multi-hour sessions, and it is expected that they will continue to do so while negotiations continue.
What will be included in the collective bargaining agreement?
Employers and unions are required to bargain in good faith over “wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.” These are considered mandatory subjects of bargaining. All other topics are considered permissive subjects of bargaining, and there is no obligation to bargain over them.
How long will it take for a collective bargaining agreement to be negotiated?
There is no required time frame for negotiating a collective bargaining agreement. It is common for first contracts to take a significant amount of time to negotiate – often more than a year. Once the University and GETUP-UAW bargaining teams reach a tentative agreement, GETUP-UAW’s membership will vote on whether to ratify the agreement. The bargaining agreement cannot be finalized unless there has been a vote in favor of ratification.
What happens if there are provisions in the collective bargaining agreement with which individual members of the bargaining unit disagree?
Both the University and all members of the bargaining unit are required to comply with the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. Individual members of the bargaining unit are not permitted to opt out of any specific rule even if they disagree with it or find it undesirable in a particular situation.
Will all members of the bargaining unit have to pay dues to the union?
Under federal law, a union can require everyone in a bargaining unit to pay membership dues or an agency fee. According to GETUP-UAW’s website, UAW membership dues are currently 1.44% of gross monthly income.
Why did the University send graduate and professional students a Consent for Certain Disclosures Consistent with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the National Labor Relations Act?
On August 1, 2024, the union sent an initial request for information to the University. Some of the requested information is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and the University cannot provide that information to GETUP-UAW without first obtaining written consent from the student to whom that information relates. The University sent an email on October 3, 2024 which contained a link to the Consent form. If you believe that you should have received an email but did not or cannot locate the email, please contact GraduateHR@upenn.edu to request that the Consent form be resent.