Graduate Assistants at Penn State University have overwhelmingly chosen to form a union and join the United Auto Workers (UAW).

These Graduate Assistants, numbering approximately 4,300, include Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, and Administrative Support Assistants who perform essential instructional, research, and administrative work that directly supports Penn State’s educational mission. Their labor is fundamental to the university’s success and to Pennsylvania’s higher education system.

This organizing effort followed a lawful, transparent process overseen by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. After hearings and a campus-wide election, Graduate Assistants voted by a 90 percent margin in favor of union representation. Instead of respecting the overwhelming democratic will of workers, Penn State has continued to pursue legal challenges to exclude Research Assistants from collective bargaining.