PSU Graduate Student Asks PLRB to Stop Union Vote

In the Matter of the Employees of Pennsylvania State University

Case Summary

  • A hearing examiner at the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) determined that nearly 4,000 graduate assistants at Penn State University were “public employees” who could be unionized. 
  • Michael Cronin, a doctoral student and graduate assistant at PSU, filed a motion with the PLRB to allow him to intervene in the proceedings as well as stay the union election until the hearing examiner’s decision could be reviewed.

PSU Graduate Students Face Unwanted Unionization

Michael came to Penn State University to get an education, not to join a union. But a union backed by the Pennsylvania State Education Association says that Cronin and his graduate assistant colleagues are public employees and has targeted him and nearly 4,000 other graduate assistants for unionization.

Grad Student Files Motion with PLRB

Faced with the prospect of losing the ability to determine his own educational future, Michael, who studies Energy and Mineral Engineering, filed a motion to intervene in an ongoing legal matter before the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB). He ultimately wanted to halt the union election scheduled for the next month and overturn a hearing examiner’s decision to designate him as a public employee.

“I accepted my appointment [at PSU] to further my education. Had I merely sought to earn money as an employee during my time as a doctoral student, I could have and would have done something other than being a graduate assistant.” – Michael Cronin

State Supreme Court Precedent Puts Graduate Assistants ‘Off-Limits’

A 1977 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in Philadelphia Ass’n of Interns & Residents v. Albert Einstein Medical Center, Temple University established that individuals paid to perform work primarily for educational or training purposes could not be unionized.

“State Supreme Court precedent clearly puts graduate assistants like Michael off-limits for unionization,” commented David Osborne, president and general counsel for the Fairness Center, which represents Cronin. “The Court reasoned that because graduate assistants are primarily seeking education, not employment, and because their positions are temporary, they cannot be considered employees and cannot be subjected to exclusive representation. However, the PLRB has ignored this precedent since the mid-1990s, and no legal challenge has been brought since.”

Case Status & Documents

In the Matter of the Employees of Pennsylvania State University is closed.

Media

PSU Grad Student Files Motion to Intervene, Protect Student Rights in Unionization Fight

News Release | The Fairness Center

March 26, 2018: “Michael Cronin, a doctoral student and graduate assistant, came to Penn State University to get an education, not to join a union. But a union backed by the Pennsylvania State Education Association says that Cronin and his graduate assistant colleagues are public employee—and has targeted him and nearly 4,000 other graduate assistants for unionization.”

Petitions to unionize Pitt, Penn State University graduate assistants face challenge

News | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

March 26, 2018: “The Fairness Center…announced Monday that a Penn State doctoral student has filed a motion to intervene before the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. The student, Michael Cronin, seeks to halt a campus election that tentatively is set to take place early next month.”