Two Votes on Unionization at Princeton, Two Different Results

Student workers in higher education have been voting to unionize in droves in recent years, with a notable spike since early 2022. But the trend screeched to a halt at Princeton University last month, when graduate-student workers voted by a large margin against joining the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (United Electrical), with 391 voting in favor and 652 opposed. The vote means Princeton will remain the only college in the Ivy League where graduate students are not represented by a union. Just days before the graduate-student election, postdoctoral researchers at Princeton voted by a margin of 484 to 89 to join the United Auto Workers union. The different results reveal some of the challenges faced by labor organizers in higher education. The last time graduate students at an American institution voted down joining a union was in 2019 at the University of Pittsburgh.