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New bill promises collective bargaining for grad assistants

Research assistants from the University of California and California State University systems may soon be able to unionize.

The California State Senate passed Senate Bill 259 – a bill aimed to expand collective bargaining rights for more research assistants – on Aug. 23 with a vote of 46-27.

SB 259 would expand the definition of “employees” at universities, allowing research assistants not defined as employees to collectively bargain.

The bill could impact up to 2,000 CSU and 14,000 UC research assistants.

Current graduate assistants are subject to the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act’s (HEERA) definition of what is an employee.

HEERA defines employees as research assistants who perform services that are “unrelated to their educational objectives,” according to the bill’s text.

SB 259 would provide all research assistants with collective bargaining rights, regardless of whether their services are related to their objectives.

The CSU currently recognizes the collective bargaining rights of several graduate assistant groups and would be in compliance with the bill if it is passed, according to CSU Spokesman Erik Fallis.

The bill remains on Gov. Brown’s desk. It must be signed or vetoed by Sept. 30. 

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