Higher Ed Unionization Boomed Under Biden. Will That Change Under Trump?

Higher education unionization surged under the Biden administration. Roughly 38 percent of graduate student workers are now unionized, as are more than a quarter of faculty, according to an August report from an organization that studies higher education labor trends.

That National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions study noted that the ranks of union-represented grad workers especially grew in the past few years, increasing by 64,000 between 2021 and 2023. That was nearly triple the uptick over the previous eight years. And, according to National Labor Relations Board data released in October, the number of new undergraduate student unions representing housing and dining facility workers outpaced grad worker teaching and research assistant union formation since April 2023. 

But Donald Trump’s election and Republicans’ recapture of control of Congress could cast a pall over higher ed labor’s progress—or even undo it. After all, Trump’s NLRB appointees during his first term proposed yanking student workers’ right to unionize at private institutions. And the unionization push by student athletes at Dartmouth College and elsewhere could face greater headwinds during Trump’s second term.

Student collective bargaining rights have come and gone with changes in the political winds. Two decades ago, during the George W. Bush administration, the NLRB ruled against a grad student union forming at Brown University, effectively preventing similar workers from organizing at private colleges and universities. (Whether student workers can unionize at public institutions isn’t up to the NLRB but is instead decided by legislators in each state.)

In August 2016, the Obama-era NLRB flipped on the issue, ruling that Columbia University grad workers could unionize. That ruling cleared the way for grad and undergrad student workers at other private universities to do the same. But Trump’s election a few months later put a damper on the celebration.

Trump’s Track Record

Trump’s unexpected victory in November 2016 chilled efforts among graduate students to form unions. Some organizers said they withdrew their petitions to form unions during his tenure, fearful of how Trump’s NLRB appointees would rule. Without petitions, Trump’s NLRB had fewer cases in which to reverse the Columbia precedent.

Then, in September 2019, Trump’s NLRB proposed removing student workers’ right to unionize at private institutions through a new rule. The board said it was seeking to provide stability on the issue for both institutions and for grad students themselves—and that the relationship between students and institutions is mostly educational, not economic.

The American Federation of Teachers was among the objectors. That union noted that student workers teach, research and grade papers, and it argued that the proposed rule exceeded the NLRB’s authority.

Then Trump lost the 2020 election.

What’s Changed Since Then

In 2021, less than two months into President Biden’s administration, the NLRB withdrew the proposed Trump-era rule. In a statement, the NLRB said it did so “in order to focus its limited resources on competing agency priorities, including the adjudication of unfair labor practice and representation cases.” Independently, Lauren McFerran, whom Biden had appointed as NLRB’s chair, said the 2016 Columbia ruling had been correct.

Then, as pandemic restrictions ebbed and Biden remained in power, student unionization took off. From 2022 through October 2024, the NLRB certified the formation of 54 bargaining units representing over 50,000 student workers, according to the board.

Earlier this year, the NLRB’s Northeast region ruled that Dartmouth College’s men’s basketball players are employees and have the right to unionize. That decision came nearly a decade after a different NLRB regional office declared Northwestern University football players were employees—but the full board back then declined to rule on the issue. The new ruling drew public opposition from congressional Republicans and some higher education institutions, and the issue is still winding its way through the NLRB.

What’s Next

How will the Trump administration, with the combined power of Republican control of both chambers of Congress, impact these and other higher education labor issues? Trump’s transition team didn’t return a request for comment Monday, and the president-elect didn’t say much about his plans on the campaign trail.

One way the Trump administration can leave its mark on labor policy is through the NLRB, whose five members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Those members have fixed terms of five years, so it could take some time until Trump appointees make up a majority on the board. Currently, one seat is open.

“The impact of the Trump administration will, in the beginning, be affected by what happens with the NLRB board majority,” said William A. Herbert, executive director of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions.

McFerran’s term expires this month, and Politico has reported that Democrats will seek to reappoint her before they lose power. The outlet reported that could mean a Democratic majority on the board until mid-2026, when many congressional Republicans will be up for re-election.

But there are lawsuits afoot from companies, plus other proposals, that might legally enable Trump to attain a majority faster. Herbert said those lawsuits will probably take time to be fully resolved.

Even if Trump doesn’t achieve an NLRB majority soon, Herbert said Trump will likely change which member chairs the NLRB and fire and replace its general counsel. Biden also replaced the general counsel when he took power. The general counsel supervises NLRB regional offices and decides whom the regional directors are and issues memos giving legal interpretations. Additionally, the general counsel can insist on how NLRB officers function and how cases are handled, Herbert said.

Herbert also noted that other agencies—including the Labor Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission—also regulate higher education labor issues. He said he can’t firmly predict what Trump will do.

“We need to slow it down and make measured evaluations based upon what actually transpires, rather than relying on speculation one way or the other,” Herbert said.

In a perhaps promising sign for labor, Trump nominated Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer, an Oregon Republican, as labor secretary. Chavez-DeRemer was one of only three House Republicans to co-sponsor the failed Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which sought to weaken state right-to-work laws and expand collective bargaining rights. Unions backed the legislation, which passed the House but didn’t move forward in the Senate.

Steven Bloom, assistant vice president for government relations at the American Council on Education, said that, if “past is prologue,” the new administration “is likely to take a position that is not favorable to unions in higher education generally.” Bloom said he imagines the Trump administration will take an anti-union stance in litigation but, when it comes to the NLRB, he noted it’s difficult to replace already-appointed NLRB members.

Mark Scudder, an attorney for Barnes and Thornburg LLP who represents many university clients and specializes in labor and employment law, expects that “the Trump administration will be a lot more pro-employer and a lot less pro-union.” But he said there’s a bit of a “wild card” in play, seeing as Trump won over more union voters in the past campaign and has nominated a labor secretary whom some unions have praised.

Scudder said he expects Trump will compromise with labor more in the manufacturing space than higher education, but noted, “He’s made his name being an unpredictable guy.” But Scudder said he expects efforts to abolish the Education Department and change Title IX regulations “will take a lot of the oxygen out of the room,” leaving little left over to reshape unions on college campuses.

Mark Meinster, director of organization for UE, a major organizer of student workers, said that while he can’t predict what Trump or his NLRB appointees will do, his union will “wage powerful strikes” if these workers’ bargaining rights are attacked.

“We think that’s a major mistake on their part if they go that route,” he added. “This is really a settled question in this industry.”