Katie LanginFor graduate students at the University of New Mexico (UNM), the pandemic was a turning point. After their petition to extend graduation timelines and funding was unsuccessful, a group of graduate students spent the past year amassing signatures to form a union and fighting a dispute with the university over the legality of its efforts.
Last week, the group received word that the state’s labor board appears poised to certify its union. If that happens, it will be the first time students have been granted the right to unionize in New Mexico—and could pave the way to contract negotiations.Graduate student unionization efforts aren’t new.