Meghan Holden

Journal & Courier

A group of Purdue University graduate students is advocating for a labor union.

The push to organize comes from some graduate student employees who say they're subjected to unfair working conditions, low wages and poor benefits.

“The graduate employee really needs an organization that will advocate for them as an employee and that is the biggest reason I think we need to have a labor union," said Michelle Campbell, a doctoral student in the English department and member of the Coalition of Graduate Employees at Purdue University.

The newly formed coalition created a Facebook page on Wednesday to promote their efforts and the page had about 70 likes at 7 p.m.

Campbell said the coalition has 15 to 20 members, but she expects that number to grow as word spreads about the group. There has been a lot of discussion among graduate employees across the university who have faced exploitative labor practices and felt voiceless, she said.

The issue is especially troublesome for international students, who might be afraid to speak up to their advisers when they're asked to work extra hours in fear they'll be deported if they get kicked out of their program, Campbell said.

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"You don’t want to make someone mad if you don’t have any standing,” she said.

Graduate employees need to have standardized contracts that lay out employment expectations and responsibilities, Campbell said, which a union would help create.

Additionally, organizing would help students build a united front on issues like inadequate health care and low stipends, she said.

Organization efforts come during a contentious planned restructure within the College of Liberal Arts that would boost pay for teaching assistants while decreasing the college's pool of graduate students and shift departments' funding.

The Purdue Graduate Student Government has acted as an outlet for graduate students to discuss and debate CLA's changes. Although PGSG does a good job advocating for students, a separate organization dedicated to employees is necessary, said Wes Bishop, a doctoral student in the history department.

"I do think there is a limit in student government in advocating for workers' rights," he said.

The coalition has reached out to national unions asking for help, but it hasn't yet committed to partnering with anyone, Campbell said. At the earliest, graduate students would vote to unionize in fall, she said.

“Where we go from here is going to largely depend on how graduate students respond," Bishop said.