Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please contact us or get in touch with a TRU representative in your department!
Who is a member of TRU-UE and what are union dues?
All graduate students enrolled in University PhD programs who are employed to provide instructional or research services, including teaching assistants, research assistants, and fellows are covered by this contract.
Specific exclusions are listed at the end of this document and in the Recognition article of the tentative agreement.
How do I become a member of TRU-UE Local 197?
To become a current member of the Union, you must sign a membership card and pay monthly membership dues. The easiest way to do this is to fill out a digital membership/dues authorization form. You must be a member to participate in the ratification vote.
If you were previously a member, to become a current member, you must sign a new digital membership card.
I am currently paying dues to TRU-UE Local 197 voluntarily. Do I need to continue paying those voluntary dues?
We will stop collecting voluntary dues in the near future and institute dues collection as agreed upon in the tentative agreement.
What are union dues?
Dues fund a strong union that can win better wages, benefits, and working conditions. Union dues go directly to TRU-UE Local 197 and the UE national and regional unions to fund the training, support, materials, staff and other resources we need to maintain an independent, democratic, rank-and-file union.
How much are union dues for TRU-UE Local 197?
Union dues are 1.44% of our gross compensation. All research assistants, teaching assistants, and fellows enrolled in JHU PhD programs who receive the full benefits and protections of the contract are required to either pay dues as union members with voting privileges or else pay equivalent agency fees to cover the costs of collective bargaining and contract enforcement. Our union sets the amount for both dues and agency fees to be 1.44% of our pay.
What are dues collected by TRU-UE used for?
Two-thirds (⅔) of collected dues go to UE national, who have helped us organize and bargain our contract. UE uses these dues to support organizing at other workplaces as well as for resources for UE locals such as access to a labor lawyer. The remaining one-third (⅓) of dues will remain with us at TRU. While it will ultimately be up to our membership to decide what we use dues for, similar locals have set up hardship funds, rented office space, and are saving for future strike funds.
Do I have to pay dues?
If you are covered by our contract, you can either become a member of TRU-UE Local 197 and pay dues or, if you choose not to become a member, pay an agency fee to the Union. This fee, which is authorized by federal law, is equivalent to union dues and covers your fair share of supporting our effort to bargain collectively with our employer and improve and defend our working conditions. Non-member fee-payers forego all rights and benefits of union membership. Non-members can sign up to pay monthly fees through payroll deduction here.
Importantly, becoming a member of the union gives you the right to vote in union elections, run for union officer and steward positions, vote at General Membership Meetings (GMMs), and participate in the decision-making and democracy of our union. Only union members are eligible to vote. We strongly encourage all Hopkins PhD workers to become active members in our union!
How can I pay my dues?
The most convenient way to pay dues is by signing up for payroll deduction using the digital membership/dues authorization form. By filling out this form, your dues will automatically be deducted from your paycheck and forwarded to the Union.
If you would prefer not to use this convenient method of automatic payment, you may pay your dues directly to TRU-UE Local 197 on a monthly basis.
When will dues start being collected?
We will begin collecting dues shortly after the contract is ratified. We will send out an email informing you of dues collection 4 weeks prior to the first dues collection. Deduction will not start before the stipend increases.
I have questions about union membership, dues, or agency fees. Who should I ask?
You can send us an email at trujhu@gmail.com.
Who is excluded from the bargaining unit?
The following groups are excluded from the unit:
- undergraduate students
- master’s students
- non-degree seeking graduate students at JHU
- postdoctoral fellows
- students who receive no compensation, wages, or paid healthcare benefits from the University
- students who have full-time appointments as faculty or staff at the University
- office clericals, managers, guards, and supervisors
Should I sign a card if I’m about to graduate?
Yes! Grad workers in the bargaining unit have 60 days after the day our agreement was signed (March 29) to sign up for financial contribution to the union. If you’re still going to be around, you should definitely sign! If you graduate before dues deduction starts (sometime after July 1), you won’t be charged.
What is TRU-UE and what is a graduate worker union?
What is TRU-UE?
We are a union of graduate student workers at JHU known as Teachers and Researchers United-United Electrical Workers (TRU-UE). We are made up of over 2,000 members from departments across campus who perform teaching and research labor at Johns Hopkins. We believe that many issues individual graduate students face at the university can best be solved through collective improvements negotiated and solidified through a contract with the university. We are currently negotiating our first contract.
Why do we need a graduate student union?
A union gives us a seat at the table, allowing for graduate student workers to negotiate collectively and ensure that everybody benefits from these improvements regardless of department and immigration status. Our graduate student union is working to secure better research conditions for grads across the university, including but not limited to:
- Living Wages for All
- Guaranteed On-Time Payment
- Improved Support for International Students
- Safe and Reliable Transportation & Workspaces
- Effective Grievance Procedures
- A Commitment to the City of Baltimore
You can read more about our platform here.
What is a union contract?
A union contract is a binding legal document that is negotiated between an employer and a group of employees that creates a required standard of compensation, benefits, and working conditions. This process is legally protected and the employer is required to abide by the terms of the contract.
A union contract can set minimum levels of compensation, limits on required work hours, and other needs that graduate workers negotiate collectively! This contract will be ratified by all the graduate students who will be covered by it.
How will a union help my research?
We formed a graduate student union to remove barriers to research at JHU. We need reliable access to the tools that allow us to do our research, such as equipment for performing work, reliable transportation options to get to work, and safe buildings to perform that research. A living wage will also allow students to focus on their research without being burdened by concerns about having enough to cover their bills. Our working conditions are our research conditions and improving both are necessary to remove the barriers we face and allow our research to thrive.
How did we form a graduate student union?
There are four basic steps in building a graduate student union.
- Build an Organizing Committee
- Collect Union Cards and submit petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
- Once the petition is accepted, turn up to the polls for the union election
- Negotiate a contract that must be ratified by the majority of grad students at JHU.
To learn more about the NLRB process, click here.
What have other graduate student unions been able to win?
Graduate student workers at other institutions have successfully negotiated a variety of improvements: better wages and benefits, increased access to workspace/materials, establishing fair processes for stopping sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and microaggressions; and guaranteed short and long-term leaves.
Read more details about what graduate student unions have been able to win:
- Compilations of some grad union wins can be found here and here.
- MITGSU’s bargaining progress can be tracked on their website.
- Harvard’s graduate student union secured major wins in their latest contract.
- Columbia secured their first union contract which laid out significant improvements to their research conditions!
Why can’t we secure these improvements with the existing mechanisms?
Graduate students over many years have attempted to secure these improvements through the existing channels, including spending our time and energy in our department-level advocacy groups, on various committees with administrators, and within the Graduate Representative Organization, Graduate Student Association, Student Assembly, etc. Our experience with these institutional mechanisms is the reason we knew that we must pursue unionization. Many graduate students on these committees have had their ideas stalled, been told they’re asking for too much, and been given an endless list of other excuses for why JHU will not grant us what we need to conduct research effectively and live dignified lives. Without a union, the university has the final say for all changes to our research conditions. It is only through a union that we claim that power back as we do the work that makes Hopkins run!
Clarifications of Contract Details:
Do I have to log my hours?
Nope! If you do begin a grievance, it might be useful to log your hours, but the union is not attempting to require you to log your hours.
How do we define what our job is?
The union’s contract does not define exactly what you are responsible for as a student, researcher, or teacher. The contract does set guidelines so that when the administration offers you a job, they must be up front and transparent about the work you’re responsible for, how much you’re paid, and provide you with the necessary resources to complete the tasks assigned. Anything within this counts towards the 20-hour work week.
Any work that is not on the contract you agree to is not your job, and the employer cannot ask you to do it.
Why is policing a union issue?
Since the union’s foundation, our membership has actively opposed the militarization of Hopkins campuses, as both a safety concern in itself and as an excuse to not spend money on better ways of improving the safety of graduate workers. Our union’s strength depends on our ability to organize and pressure the administration when they don’t move on issues that are important to us. We can do this more flexibly in the absence of an armed private police under the sole control of the university.
What does it mean to have a commitment to the city of Baltimore?
It means that Johns Hopkins exists within the city of Baltimore, derives labor from its residents, extracts value from its land through gentrification projects and not paying property taxes, and in other ways, intentional and not, affects the conditions of the city and its residents. Hopkins will always have a relationship with the city of Baltimore through its physical presence in the city, and through its economic position as one of the biggest employers in Baltimore. Therefore, it must earnestly commit to engaging in this relationship in a way that is beneficial rather than detrimental to the Baltimore community, and we as employees of Hopkins must be part of this change.
Joining Teachers and Researchers United – UE (TRU-UE)
I’m interested in getting involved, where do I start?
Great! First, sign your union card here. To get in touch with an organizer in your department, reach out to your representative here or send us an email at trujhu@gmail.com so we can tell you more about the campaign and answer any additional questions you have! We have graduate student workers performing lab/office walkthroughs talking to people in departments across the university, participating in various committees, and chatting one on one with their colleagues about building a grad student union that works for all of us!
What does signing a union card mean?
Signing your union card means you want to become a member of Teachers and Researchers United (TRU-UE), the union for all graduate student workers at JHU. Signing your card means that you stand with your colleagues in demanding a living wage for all, guaranteed on-time payment, improved support for international students, safe and reliable facilities & transportation, fair grievance procedures, and a commitment to the city of Baltimore. Card signers participate in our union’s democratic processes, from electing our bargaining committee to voting on our contract proposals.
I have more questions, how can I get them answered?
Great! We have organizers in almost every department and division across the university, so there’s probably someone you know who’d be happy to talk more about TRU with you and any of your questions, issues, or concerns. Just email us at trujhu@gmail.com with your name, and someone will be in touch soon!
Will I ever have to go on strike?
As long as JHU bargains with us in good faith, we will not have to go on strike. A key motivation in having a majority of graduate student workers signing union cards is that such a show of solidarity encourages JHU to recognize our union without contest. In that case, we would not need to go on strike. Half of all private university graduate student unions have never had to authorize a strike.
At the same time, it is important to recognize that our labor is our most powerful bargaining chip. Through our labor in research, teaching, and other activities, we generate significant value to JHU. We can send a powerful message to JHU if we withhold that labor: JHU works because we do. Additionally, strikes can vary in form and specific strikes around teaching and other services, rather than research activities, can be a critical way of demonstrating the amount of labor we put into the University. The decision to strike is never made lightly. A strike requires a supermajority vote of all grad-workers (this is called a strike authorization vote). This means a supermajority of graduate student workers have decided that JHU is not negotiating in good faith with our union and a strike is necessary. Our union will never require any worker to strike, but if we decide to strike, we are most powerful when we stand united.
Know Your Rights
Who is allowed to participate in a union?
If you are receiving a paycheck from JHU in exchange for work related to research assistantships or teaching assistantships, you are a worker and therefore eligible to be part of TRU. Most broadly, this includes anyone who is currently working as a graduate student (PhD) in one of the divisions of JHU (including Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Whiting School of Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, School of Medicine, School of Nursing and School of Education). If you have questions about the legal constraints on union eligibility, please reach out!
Are international students eligible to be in a union?
YES! International workers enjoy the same legal rights to participate in organizing efforts as citizens/legal residents. Visa requirements in no way compromise your right to join a graduate advocacy group for your U.S. workplace. International student workers have participated in organizing graduate unions across the U.S in great numbers, including within TRU already. Any threat that organizing for a union could compromise legal status is not only wrong, it is illegal! For more information on international student workers and their rights to unionize, please see our page for international grad workers.
Can the university retaliate against me for being involved in a union?
NO! Any form of retaliation for union activity/involvement is illegal per the National Labor Relations Act. Graduate student workers have the right to support and participate in union organizing at work. The university cannot fire, discipline, or otherwise discriminate against you in any way. Additionally, you cannot be asked about your opinion on support or whether you are participating in TRU. Further, you cannot be threatened with any changes to your compensation, benefits, or other conditions for participation in a union.
Potential Impacts
How will stipend increases be paid for? Will my advisor have to take less students?
Currently, JHU takes approximately half of all grant money that enters the institution through the PIs. Other institutions have reduced the amount taken from PIs for “overhead” to allow for stipend increases to match the cost of living. Additionally, as of June 2023, Johns Hopkins had the twentieth largest endowment of any U.S. university, valued at $10.5 billion. The JHU endowment includes $2.6 billion of unrestricted reserves available to offset the rising cost of living. Plus over the past year alone, JHU had a $414 million budget surplus. This adds to a $600 million surplus over the last three years, including the early pandemic (FYs 2020–22). In short, Hopkins can afford it!
Won’t being involved in TRU’s efforts harm my relationship with my advisor/PI?
We’re building a union to remove barriers to conducting our research! Removing these barriers will allow us to get more done by improving the conditions we do our work under. It is for exactly this reason that the advisor-mentee relationship should remain unchanged with a union. In addition, part of our platform includes effective grievance procedures to resolve disputes between advisors and mentees, as well as codify our access to vacation time and work hours so graduate student workers are able to maintain a healthy work-life balance that allows us to thrive!