October 8, 2022
For Undergrads, the Best Extracurricular Is a Labor Union
By Lisa Herforth-Hebbert
With approval of organized labor at the highest level since 1965, undergraduate student workers have turned to unionizing as college costs continue to rise.
In 2019, the National Labor Relations Board proposed shrinking the definition of “employee” to exclude college students working for their university in connection with their studies. In their eyes, the relationship between a private university and a student worker engaged in teaching or research was primarily educational, not financial.
If accepted, the rule would have severely limited student workers’ right to unionize. But in early 2021, President Joe Biden’s NLRB suddenly withdrew the proposal, citing limited resources. The agency would instead focus on the “adjudication of cases currently in progress.” Biden had been sworn in less than two months before, appointing a former union leader, Marty Walsh, as labor secretary.
Now, public approval of labor unions is at the highest level since 1965, with 71 percent of Americans in favor of organized labor. Along with more progressive appointees in the NLRB, the national coverage of the union drives at Amazon and Starbucks has further solidified the idea that unions are still both relevant and potent.
