Graduate student workers at the University of Pennsylvania held a two-day election that ended with the group overwhelmingly supporting unionization.
About 95% of voters backed Graduate Employees Together – University of Pennsylvania (GET-UP) formally becoming a part of the United Auto Workers (UAW), with a 1,807-96 final vote count.
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UAW is affiliated with several groups of academic workers at universities including Harvard, Columbia and New York University. The union can now make a collective bargaining request with the university.
"Today, after months of organizing and a series of delays by the university, we are thrilled to announce that we have won our union,” Sam Schirvar, a graduate worker at Penn, said in a statement.
"This battle was hardfought, and every single worker who made time to organize played a part in this victory," Schirvar continued. "We are grateful for the support of fellow workers, faculty, legislators and the many community leaders who stood with us. We are urging the university to prepare to negotiate with us for a fair contract."
A Penn spokesperson responded to the election in a statement: "At Penn, we engage as a community to advance what is important to us all — a dynamic and supportive academic environment. We look forward to working with representatives from the UAW to continue this important mission for Penn’s graduate and professional students."
Teaching and research assistants working across over 100 departments are a part of GET-UP, aiming to improve working conditions at the university and secure protections against harassment and discrimination. The election, which was held in Bodek Lounge on Wednesday and Thursday, was originally scheduled for April 16-17.
GET-UP claimed Penn administrators wanted to move the election to the fall by citing a lack of space on campus for the election and was attempting to exclude Education Fellowship Recipients.
But those roughly 300 students became eligible to vote, organizers booked a room through the Office of Student Life and the regional National Labor Relations Board ruled for an earlier election in late April or early May.
The support to unionize comes after failed attempts by GET-UP in 2003 and 2017. GETUP-UAW is now the largest union at Penn.