Penn State Graduate Student Union Election Tentatively Scheduled for April

Penn State’s Coalition of Graduate Employees and the university have tentatively agreed on dates when a graduate student unionization vote will be held, CGE announced Thursday night.

The elections at University Park will be held Tuesday, April 10, through Friday, April13. Students at Penn State Hershey Medical Center can vote on Monday, April 16, while students at Penn State Harrisburg can vote on Tuesday, April 17. More details about polling locations and times will be released after the official order from the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.

“We are thrilled to finally have a vote,” CGE Co-President Jerome Clarke said in the release. “This has been years in the making, and we’re looking forward to voting for our union.”

Pennsylvania’s Labor Relations Board ruled in February that Penn State’s graduate assistants are considered employees and are therefore entitled to unionize if they so choose. Provost Nick Jones said last week at a Board of Trustees committee meeting, the university believes unionization would not best serve the needs of Penn State’s graduate students in pursuing their future academic and professional endeavors.

Jones also said the graduate school was preparing a list of eligible voters and would notify those who are eligible via email. The university encourages graduate students to get the facts and avoid misinformation, consider all points of view, and vote in the election.

Mark your calendars because WE’VE GOT OUR UNION ELECTION DATES!

University Park Campus – April 10, 11, 12, and 13, 2018
Hershey Medical – April 16, 2018
PSU Harrisburg – April 17, 2018

More details to come, but right now celebrate that it’s #ElectionTime#YesCGE #WeAreWorkers pic.twitter.com/Bb8AORfkI2

— CGE at PSU (@cge_psu) March 2, 2018