Skip to main content

Resources

Find resources and information related to the graduate union collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

Bargaining Unit Definition

As certified by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the “bargaining unit” is defined as:

Graduate students enrolled in Northwestern University degree programs who are providing instructional and research services for the University, including graduate assistants, teaching assistants, research assistants and fellows.

The bargaining unit definition also explicitly excludes:

All other employees; graduate students who are not providing instructional or research services for the University; undergraduate students; graduate students not seeking Northwestern degrees, including visiting students; graduate student graders, tutors and proctors who are not otherwise providing instructional or research services for the University; assistant chairs in residential colleges; residential assistants; students enrolled in the Pritzker School of Law; M.D. seeking students in the Feinberg School of Medicine (including M.D./Ph.D. students in Feinberg who are in their M.D. phase of studies); students enrolled in the Medill School of Journalism; office clericals; managers; guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.

Consistent with the exclusions above, non-graduate students like postdoctoral fellows, research associates, and other employees who are not enrolled in a degree program are not part of the bargaining unit.

Please note: Bargaining unit inclusions and exclusions are the product of negotiations between the University and the graduate student union and in accordance with federal labor law.

Key Benefit Charts and Union Contract Definitions 

The following charts outline the key benefits provided to graduate students in the bargaining unit as defined by the CBA as well as those Northwestern is extending to graduate students outside of the bargaining unit at its discretion. Key CBA definitions are also included below for reference.