Graduate assistants at Nevada’s universities and research institutions have voted in favor of unionizing. The student workers delivered letters notifying administrators at UNLV, UNR, and the Desert Research Institute of their intent to organize last week.
More than 65 percent of the state’s roughly 25 hundred graduate assistants have signed cards showing their support for a potential union.
The group looks to organize under the United Auto Workers, which represents more than 100,000 academic workers nationwide.
Krista Diamond is working toward her Ph.D. in Creative Writing and was among those who delivered the letter to the UNLV administration.
"So many graduate assistants have experienced discrimination and harassment in the workplace, have experienced issues with job appointments. So, we want workplace protections, and we believe that a union will give us the ability to make progress on those issues and ultimately make the institution stronger.”
Graduate assistants are students who receive free or reduced tuition and a stipend in exchange for university employment.
The Nevada System of Higher Education said in a statement that it remains committed to addressing the concerns its academic community members raise and “fulfilling its responsibilities guided by Nevada law and established policies.”
As a note of disclosure, Krista Diamond has been a paid contributor to Nevada Public Radio’s city/regional magazine, Desert Companion.
