NLRB Rules that Graduate Student Fellows Are Not Employees Under the NLRA

On March 13, 2023, the Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that MIT graduate students funded on fellowship awards are not employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and, therefore, are not eligible for inclusion in the bargaining unit represented by the MIT Graduate Student Union- United Electrical, Radio, & Machine Workers of America (MIT GSU-UE).  

The Regional Director’s ruling followed a four-day hearing in November 2022 as well as the submission of briefs from MIT and the MIT GSU-UE.  You can read MIT’s brief here.  For more information about this topic, please refer to the following pages on MIT’s grad student unionization website:

• Update on MIT GSU-UE’s petition to add fellows to the current bargaining unit
• NLRB decision on fellows