When the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certified EmoryUnite! as a union in 2023, federal law obligated Emory University administration to enter into negotiations with the graduate student union. After two years of negotiations, Emory and EmoryUnite! ratified their first Collective Bargaining Agreement earlier this month, establishing the terms and conditions of work for graduate students in the Laney Graduate School.
The agreement establishes new pay rates, increased benefits and standards of working hours for students. The new terms went into effect immediately and will remain in place until Aug. 24, 2027.
A Sept. 19 EmoryUnite! press release emphasized that the contract “marks a historic win for organized labor at Emory.” This is the University’s first and only union contract, according to EmoryUnite! Incoming co-chair Tasfia Jahangir (23PH, 29G).
“Our journey to this first contract started a decade ago with a small group of Emory grad students who had a vision for a better future,” Jahangir said.
Under the preliminary Memorandum of Agreement, all graduate students will have a minimum annual stipend of $42,000, compared to $36,000 at the beginning of Spring 2024. The memorandum was published before finalizing the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Additionally, students will have access to three separate pools of funding to assist with childcare, dependent care, international activities, medical needs, financial hardships and medical insurance for students on leaves of absence. Emory will distribute these funds, and they will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Jahangir. Moreover, within their five years of guaranteed funding at Laney, graduate students may each also receive up to $7,500 in professional development support from the University.
The press release states that the union had 30 bargaining sessions with the University over the last two years. The union has been in negotiations with the University since April 2024, according to EmoryUnite! Former co-chair and current treasurer David Meer (26G). Union members overwhelmingly ratified the contract with a 97% vote, according to a Sept. 12 post.
EmoryUnite! Bargaining Committee co-lead Madelyn Carlson (29G) wrote that the agreement reflects PhD students’ efforts.
“Securing our first contract is a major win that can be attributed to the hard work of the PhD student body, who have consistently advocated for more stability and security in our jobs,” Carlson wrote.
In a memo to Emory faculty, Interim Provost Lanny Liebeskind and Laney Graduate School Dean Kimberly Arriola wrote that Emory hopes to continue working with SEIU Southern Region.
“We thank all our faculty and staff for their ongoing support of our PhD student community as we continue to pursue excellence in graduate education, teaching and research,” Liebeskind and Arriola wrote.
Liebeskind and Arriola wrote that they look forward to implementing the agreement.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement that reflects a shared commitment to top-quality graduate education and an Emory experience that fosters success,” Liebeskind and Arriola wrote.
Lauren Yee (she/her) (24Ox, 27C) is a managing editor at The Emory Wheel. She is from Hong Kong, majoring in religion and German. Outside of the Wheel, Yee is the president of the Hong Kong Student Association and the managing editor for In Via, Emory's Christian thought journal. In her free time, you can find her playing the saxophone, watching musicals, listening to Taylor Swift or enjoying a pumpkin cream chai!
