Megan Mechak
Wed, 10/27/2021
Student workers in the Office of Admissions at Hamilton College in New York narrowly voted to be represented by an affiliate of the United Food and Commercial Workers earlier this month. The election is important because the National Labor Relations Board has changed its position on whether students who perform services for financial compensation in connections with their studies can unionize in recent years. In 2019, the NLRB proposed to enact a rule that student workers could not unionize because “the relationship these students have with their school is predominately educational rather than economic.” However, the proposed rule was not finalized before the November 2020 presidential election, and the NLRB withdrew it in March 2021.
The October 2021 election follows a September 29, 2021 memorandum from NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo which argues that, under certain circumstances, student athletes can be considered employees who are entitled to unionize.
As a result of these developments, the NLRB is likely to classify more students as employees who can form, join, and assist labor unions. For more information on MSE’s services to labor unions and their members, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/practice-areas/labor-unions.
