Maryland lawmakers pass bill letting UMD graduate assistants unionize

Graduate assistants at the University of Maryland in College Park moved a step closer to collective bargaining rights after the Maryland General Assembly passed SB 84 and HB 141, a vote that could reshape pay, workload and workplace rules at one of Prince George’s County’s largest institutions.

The bill would let graduate assistants at the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County bargain collectively. It defines graduate assistants broadly to include teaching, administrative or research assistants, fellows and postdoctoral interns, putting a wide slice of graduate workers inside the measure’s reach if Gov. Wes Moore signs it into law.

For students and faculty in College Park, the stakes go beyond Annapolis. Graduate assistants teach classes, run labs, conduct research and help keep daily university operations moving while also balancing their own coursework. If bargaining moves forward, it could change how those workers negotiate over pay and workload, and that could ripple into classrooms, labs and student support across campus.

The legislation was described as a historic breakthrough in a campaign that has stretched for more than 20 years. Maryland’s 2001 collective bargaining law opened the door for many higher-education employees but excluded faculty and students, leaving graduate assistants without a path to union representation unless lawmakers created one. The University of Maryland’s Graduate Student Government has backed a similar resolution every year since 2016.

Sen. Benjamin Kramer has sponsored the bill for eight straight years, underscoring how long the push has lingered in the General Assembly. A similar measure passed the House in 2019 but died in the Senate Finance Committee, and graduate students and faculty returned again in 2022 to testify in support while university administrators opposed the proposal.

The University Senate at the University of Maryland later said graduate workers formed a Graduate Labor Union and reached a supermajority on Oct. 1, 2024. That same resolution said administrators remained opposed to collective bargaining rights, arguing it could limit direct communication with graduate assistants and affect mentorship relationships. Supporters countered that graduate workers have sought voluntary recognition and pointed to outcomes at other universities.

The fiscal note says the bill would take effect July 1, 2028 if enacted and that state costs for UMCP and UMBC would be minimal, mostly tied to reimbursement for the Public Employee Relations Board. The bill’s synopsis also mentions other public institutions, including University System of Maryland schools, Morgan State University and St. Mary’s College of Maryland, but the operative language applies to UMCP and UMBC graduate assistants.