Rutgers Professor Q&A about grad unionization

Lisa Klein, PhD, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering Graduate Program Director at Rutgers University

1.         In general, what is the impact of the existence of a research assistants’ union on your relationships with your research assistants?  On the quality of life for research assistants at your institution?

The existence of a graduate employee union means that our graduate employees are treated with respect. They have benefits that are the same as those of the faculty, particularly in terms of health care. Once the employments issues are taken care of, it means my relationship with my graduate students is one of mutual interest in our shared goal of doing outstanding original research.

2.         Do the union or the union contract play any role in the mentoring or evaluation of your GSRAs?

The contract underpins the mentoring relation, but strictly speaking, the mentoring relation is the traditional one, between an advisor and a graduate student. I think of my graduate students as my legacy. I want them to gain professionalism from the experience in graduate school and move on to permanent positions.

3.         What impact, if any, has the union contract had on the number of hours your GSRAs work?

There has always been a union where I work, so I cannot comment on before and after. My graduate students work with the same intensity that I do. All of the work that my students are doing is furthering their goal in pursuit of MS or PhD degrees. I understand the concept of “hours” in terms of a contract, but are the hours that the graduate employee is thinking about their research counted? Of course not, and, as I recall from my own experience as a graduate student, I was always thinking about my research. To me, a faculty advisor who is counting hours or worrying that the student is limiting their hours is wasting energy on something that is not an issue. The faculty advisor should be finding better ways to mentor and inspire.

4.         Has the quality of students you are able to recruit changed at all since the union was formed? If so, how?

I have to say that the contract has improved the salary for our graduate employees dramatically over the past 6 years. As a result, we are able to recruit better students, and we are competitive with other universities and nationally awarded fellowships. So overall, the contract has improved our ability to recruit.

5. What happens when you have a student who is not performing according to your expectations?

This is an academic matter. A student who is not meeting expectations receives an unsatisfactory grade in research. A student who is not mastering coursework receives C’s in classes. There is a graduate program committee to review progress each semester, and continuing in the graduate program is clearly spelled out in the Graduate Catalog. A student who does not meet the standards is dismissed from the program at the end of the semester. If this is in the middle of an appointment, the student resigns the appointment.

6.         If you heard a faculty colleague at an institution without a GSRA union say “If a union forms, it will destroy my research operation and I’ll have to move my lab somewhere else” what would you say?

First, I would want to know the basis for these comments. Someone who trusts hearsay or some horror story as the basis for their comments is not likely to be persuaded by facts. Second, there are the ideological ones who are opposed to unions for reasons I will never understand. For those who do not want a union because it will infringe on their ability to hire laboratory slaves and exploit them, I would ask them to recount their own experience. To get to a tenure–‐track position today, it takes a dedicated scholar, and chances are that their experience in graduate school was one of inspiration and incredible drive to succeed, and not one of being enslaved and exploited. If it was, then I am mystified by why they persist in academe. I have been successful, and I have respected my students as graduate employees. I have abundant experience to say that a graduate employee union is compatible with excellent research productivity.

7.         How–if at all–has the existence of the GSRA union changed your grant-getting process? Has it changed your success winning grant funds at all?

There is no direct impact on winning grant funds that I can draw from having a union. However, the indirect impact comes in the “Broader Impacts”, a necessary part of a winning proposal at the federal agencies, specifically National Science Foundation. Because of the union contract, we have an office that addresses diversity on campus and work–‐family balance. All NSF proposals require a mentoring  plan, if a post doc is included on the proposal. All reviewers for NSF proposals are aware that the atmosphere on campus has to be supportive and provide mentoring in a variety of ways in order to be in the “must fund” category.

8.         Has a GSRA union impacted your students’ overall time to degree, success getting jobs after their graduate programs, etc.? When graduate employee pay is sufficient to continue in graduate school, the graduate students do not have to interrupt their programs and take other jobs. They do not have to worry about family health care coverage, so they can concentrate on their completion. The widely held opinion on time-to-completion is that there is a strong relation between continuous support and completing in a reasonable period of time, whether there is a union or not.

9.         What role has the RA union played in promoting research at your institution or in your state?

The graduate employees have supported the faculty and the faculty members have backed up the graduate employees, when it comes to presenting our case to the state legislature for funding. There is strength in numbers. Since universities are viewed as generators of new ideas, new technologies, and spin-off companies, you could say that having the best graduate employees is one way to continue this trend. The way you get the best graduate employees is to treat them with respect.

10.       Does an RA union have any impact on recruitment?

Recruiting graduate students is all about reputation. Do I think having a grad union has helped me recruit? Yes. I can offer a fair salary and benefits, and then, I am going to work as hard as I can to make them successful.