In Push to Reach Voters, Anti-Union Student Publishes Video Series

UPDATED: April 2, 201 8 at 1:08 a.m.

As a second election to determine whether eligible student assistants will form a union approaches, at least one anti-unionization graduate student is increasing his efforts to reach voters through a series of informational videos with University administrators.

Ph.D. student Jae Hyeon Lee, a member of Against HGSU-UAW—a loosely organized group of graduate students who oppose the effort to form a union—released a series of videos last week recording interviews with University administrators about issues related to unionization. Administrators featured included Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dean of Finance and Administration Allen D. Aloise and University Director of Labor and Employee Relations Paul R. Curran.

HGSU-UAW stands for Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers, a pro-unionization advocacy group.

Lee wrote in an email that he first reached out to administrators to propose the project about a year ago.

“At that time I reached out to several administrators for an interview but they all declined the request,” Lee wrote. “This is for an understandable reason that people, in general, fear the possibility of their words being misinterpreted or used against them.”

“I hope that the videos will generate informed and thoughtful questions regarding the unionization and will help some students cast a more informed vote on the election day,” he added.

In the videos, administrators discussed the GSAS budget process, student stipends and benefits, and the negotiating powers of a graduate student union. Questions asked included the query whether the University could “drastically increase” student benefits without “compromises elsewhere.”

Though individual administrators—including University President Drew G. Faust—have expressed skepticism regarding unionization in the past, the University has never adopted an official stance on unionization in communications to students, instead encouraging eligible students to vote and providing links to pro- and anti-unionization sources.

“As we move toward the election, it is critically important to consider the issues at stake and engage in a robust conversation about the potential impact of unionization,” Curran wrote in emails to students in January, February, and March.

Curran’s emails also contained links to resources from the Office of the Provost’s website, HGSU-UAW, Against HGSU-UAW, and "Graduate Student Unionization: A Critical Approach," a blog run by Lee.

Former National Labor Relations Board Chairman William B. Gould IV said the type of advocacy permitted by the University is mostly determined by the election agreement between the union and the University.

“If the employer has entered into an agreement not to engage in a certain kind of conduct, and it does it in concert with third parties, it would seem to me that that would be a basis for upsetting the agreement and providing for a re-run election in the event that the union does not get a majority of the votes,” Gould said. “But it depends on the extent to which the University is acting with the third parties.”

Beyond its legal obligation to refrain from coercing eligible voters, the University has not made a formal commitment to remain neutral in the run-up to the election. Under labor law, employers are also obligated to provide unions with voter lists, in part so that union advocates can relay arguments in favor of unionization.

These required voter lists formed a point of contention during the 2016 unionization election. After over a year of legal back-and-forth, the National Labor Relations Board determined the University-generated list was inadequate and ordered a second election.

In response to Lee’s videos, HGSU-UAW organizer Andrew B. Donnelly wrote in an email that the union has reached out to GSAS to ask if administrators will make a similar set of videos with union representatives, though no such interviews have been scheduled.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: April 2, 2018

A previous version of this article incorrectly indicated Jae Hyeon Lee created the video series of interviews with administrators on behalf of Against HGSU-UAW. In fact, Lee created the videos entirely on his own and not on behalf of the organization.

—Staff writer Shera S. Avi-Yonah can be reached at shera.avi-yonah@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter at @saviyonah.