A recent report from the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions underscores the dramatic increase in unionization across higher education—particularly in the private sector—among tenure- and non-tenure track faculty, postdoctoral and academic researchers, graduate student workers, and undergraduate student workers. The report details collective bargaining relationships at public and non-profit private institutions of higher education between 2012 and the start of calendar year 2024.

Overall, the report shows that the number of individuals represented by a union, as well as the number of bargaining units, has increased across the board for faculty, postdoctoral and academic researchers, graduate student workers, and undergraduate student workers.

  • The total number of unionized faculty grew by 7.5% between 2012 and 2024, with represented faculty in the private sector growing by 56% since 2012.
  • Over the past two decades, higher education has seen a steady growth in the number of separate bargaining units of postdoctoral scholars. As of the start of 2024, there were 10 postdoc bargaining units, four of which were at private universities, up from three bargaining units at public universities in 2012.
  • Unionization of graduate student workers saw the most dramatic increase between 2012 and 2024—the total number of represented graduate students increasing by 133%, with 60% of this growth occurring in the private sector.
  • As of January 2024, almost 40% of all graduate student workers nationwide are unionized.
  • In 2012, there were 29 separate bargaining units of graduate student workers in higher education, with only one unit at a private, non-profit institution. According to the report, at the end of 2023, there were 81 bargaining units exclusively of graduate student workers, 37 of which were at private, non-profit institutions.
  • Unionization of undergraduate student workers has also surged, with 17 new separate bargaining units of undergraduate students emerging at private universities between 2021 and 2023.

As highlighted in the report, the rapid growth in higher education unionization over the past decade is diametrically opposed to the broader national unionization trends during this same period. The nationwide rate of union representation, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, decreased to 11.2% in 2023 from 12.5% in 2012.

The report highlights that this boom has been driven by increased casualization of faculty roles, labor-friendly policies, and organizing efforts by unions on college campuses. Proskauer has remained at the forefront of the higher ed labor movement, representing and advising elite academic institutions on how to best navigate their experiences with union campaigns and collective bargaining relationships. This is a trend we expect to continue, and we will keep you informed of the latest in higher education unionization here.

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Photo of Paul Salvatore Paul Salvatore

Paul Salvatore provides strategic labor and employment law advice to companies, boards of directors/trustees, senior executives and general counsel in such areas as labor-management relations, litigation, alternative dispute resolution, international labor and employment issues, and corporate transactions.

He negotiates major collective bargaining agreements…

Paul Salvatore provides strategic labor and employment law advice to companies, boards of directors/trustees, senior executives and general counsel in such areas as labor-management relations, litigation, alternative dispute resolution, international labor and employment issues, and corporate transactions.

He negotiates major collective bargaining agreements in several industries, including real estate and construction. Paul represents the NYC real estate industry’s multi-employer organization, the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations (RAB), and its principal trade organization, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). In 2023, he helped the RAB reach a new collective bargaining agreement with SEIU Local 32BJ, covering 20,000 commercial building employees, enabling the industry to adapt its labor practices to tenants’ post-COVID utilization of office space, including that caused by remote/hybrid work.

Paul has long represented construction employers and developers, such as the Related Companies, Cement League, Association of Master Painters and others. He negotiates Project Labor Agreements (PLA’s), such as for Related (enabling the construction of Hudson Yards), and presently for Gateway Development Corporation (GDC) in building the New York-New Jersey train tunnels, the largest infrastructure project in America. City & State magazine has named him one of the most powerful lawyers in New York for his work in this sector.

Paul also tries arbitrations and litigations, and argues appeals, arising from labor-management relationships. He argued and won before the U.S. Supreme Court 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett. In a 5-4 decision of importance to employers, the Court held that a collective bargaining agreement explicitly requiring unionized employees to arbitrate employment discrimination claims is enforceable, modifying 35 years of labor law. Unions and employers now negotiate “Pyett clauses” in collective bargaining. He has argued and won federal circuit court cases reversing the National Labor Relations Board’s findings against employers, including in the D.C. and Fifth Circuits.

Paul represents universities and colleges in their labor and employment relations, including in the currently active areas of unionization and collective bargaining with graduate students, undergraduates, athletes and adjunct faculty. Among other schools he has worked with are Yale, Duke, Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis and Caltech. Paul pioneered innovative non-NLRB graduate student union election agreements at Cornell, Brown and Syracuse Universities.

An honors graduate of Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) and the Cornell Law School, Paul served eight years on Cornell’s Board of Trustees, including on its Executive Committee. He subsequently was elected Trustee Emeritus and Presidential Councilor. He presently serves as a Trustee Member of the Board of Fellows of Weill Cornell Medicine, as well as on the Law School and ILR Deans’ Advisory Councils. In 2002, ILR awarded him the Judge William B. Groat prize, the school’s highest honor.

At Proskauer, Paul was elected to its Executive Committee and served as co-chair of its global Labor & Employment Law Department, named during his tenure by The American Lawyer and Chambers USA as one of the premier U.S. practices. He is widely recognized as a leading U.S. labor and employment lawyer in such publications as Chambers Global and USA (Band 1), and Legal 500 (“Hall of Fame”). The National Law Journal selected Paul as one of “The Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers” – one of only three in the labor and employment law field. His peers elected him to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

An active speaker and writer on labor and employment law issues, Paul’s recent publications include “One Dozen Years of Pyett: A Win for Unionized Workplace Dispute Resolution” in the American Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Journal (“ABA Journal”), Volume 36, Number 2 at 257, and “The PLA Alternative in an Increasingly Open Shop New York City Construction Market: The REBNY-BCTC Statement of Principles,” Volume 37 ABA Journal, Number 3 at 415. He is an Adjunct Professor at Cornell Law School, teaching “Current Issues in Collective Bargaining.”

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Photo of Elizabeth Dailey Elizabeth Dailey

Elizabeth Ann Dailey is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department. Elizabeth assists clients in a variety of labor and employment matters, including motion practice, administrative proceedings, internal investigations, labor-management relations, and claims of employment discrimination. As part of her labor-management…

Elizabeth Ann Dailey is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department. Elizabeth assists clients in a variety of labor and employment matters, including motion practice, administrative proceedings, internal investigations, labor-management relations, and claims of employment discrimination. As part of her labor-management relations practice, Elizabeth has assisted in representation proceedings before the NLRB and has experience responding to unfair labor practice charges, conducting labor-related business risk assessments, and assisting with collective bargaining negotiations.

Elizabeth frequently represents clients across a variety of industries and sectors, including educational institutions, sports entities, news and media organizations, entertainment companies, healthcare institutions, and real estate companies.

Elizabeth earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she completed a certificate program in business management from The Wharton School. While attending Penn Law, Elizabeth interned with the National Labor Relations Board Region 2 where she conducted investigations into unfair labor practices and recommended case dispositions to the Regional Director.

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Photo of L.D. Jones L.D. Jones

Larenz Jones is an associate in the Labor Department and a member of the Employment Litigation & Counseling Group.

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