UAF Graduate Workers Voting on Unionization

By Zeke Shomler

The University of Alaska’s graduate student workers are voting on unionization. From October 13th through the 26th, online voting through Intelivote will be open for all graduate TAs, RAs, Engagement Assistants, Fellows, and hourly graduate student workers for the university across all UA work locations. A majority “yes” vote will formally establish the AGWA-UAW bargaining unit. If the unit is certified by vote, negotiations can begin to establish a labor contract.

AGWA, or the Alaska Graduate Workers Association, began organizing in 2020. In early 2022, the group affiliated with the United Auto Workers union to form AGWA-UAW. 

In Fall 2022, over 400 potential unit members signed cards showing interest in unionization, and AGWA-UAW filed a petition for recognition with the Alaska Labor Relations Agency (ALRA). In March, after several months of back-and-forth between AGWA and UAF to define the bargaining unit, ALRA counted the signed cards and found that enough had been signed to fulfill “showing of interest.” This meant the university was required by state law to publicly post the petition, and a 15-day response window was given for any interested parties to object.

On April 10th, UAF objected to the petition and unit description, stating that “the unit appropriate for collective bargaining is a wall-to-wall unit of all student employees.” They expressed concerns about fragmenting the student body and suggested that the proposed unit might violate state law. 

Over the summer, a Motion for Summary Judgment was filed by the university. ALRA ruled in favor of a unit of graduate RAs/TAs, student assistants, and staff members. Fellows and service/engagement assistants were to be decided at trial. Then, after a Motion for Reconsideration, ALRA reconfirmed the ruling in favor of AGWA-UAW. Mediated meetings between UAF and AGWA led to a settlement being reached without going to trial. In late August, the bargaining unit was formally defined as including all graduate assistants and all student assistants who were graduate students. 

All graduate students have been encouraged to vote in the election to ensure its results accurately represent the views of the student body. AGWA’s webpage provides step-by-step instructions. Voting ends at 4:00 p.m. on October 26th, and results of the election are expected by November 2nd.