For example, the graduate
student unionization efforts underway at a number of private universities rely on the National Labor Relations Board's August 2016 ruling that graduate research and teaching assistants are employees.
While visiting labs to promote the
unionization effort, Nicoludis heard from research assistants who felt that they were asked to work unreasonable hours, and from female
students who felt uncomfortable approaching their advisers about lewd comments; a union could potentially help resolve these situations, Nicoludis says.