State Personnel - Collective Bargaining - Graduate Assistants
HB0141 expands collective bargaining rights for certain graduate assistants at Maryland public higher education institutions. The bill defines “graduate assistant” to include graduate students at University System of Maryland institutions, Morgan State University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County who serve as teaching assistants, administrative assistants, research assistants, or in comparable positions, as well as fellows and postdoctoral interns. It also makes clear that these graduate assistants are covered by the State Personnel and Pensions Article for collective bargaining purposes.
The bill creates a separate bargaining unit for eligible graduate assistants at each covered institution and removes them from the exclusions that previously applied to certain student employees, contingent or temporary employees, and grant- or contract-funded workers. In practical terms, this allows graduate assistants to organize and bargain collectively over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment through the Public Employee Relations Board framework. The act takes effect July 1, 2028, and amends the state personnel law governing public employee labor relations.
HB0141 changes Maryland’s State Personnel and Pensions law by expressly including eligible graduate assistants in the collective bargaining system for public higher education institutions. It amends the statutory definitions and bargaining-unit provisions so that graduate assistants are treated as a distinct employee category eligible for union representation and negotiations, while preserving existing bargaining-unit structures for other employees. The bill affects the University System of Maryland, Morgan State University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Baltimore City Community College, and it may also affect related labor relations procedures administered by the Public Employee Relations Board.
The available record suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill, as reflected by its enactment and approval by the Governor. Although no committee transcript or vote tally is provided, the bill’s final passage indicates legislative support for extending labor rights to graduate assistants in public higher education. The measure appears to align with broader efforts to recognize graduate assistants as employees for collective bargaining purposes.
The main point of contention likely concerns whether graduate assistants should be treated as employees with bargaining rights or as students whose roles are primarily educational. The bill addresses that issue by carving graduate assistants out of exclusions that otherwise apply to undergraduate student employees, contingent employees, and certain grant-funded positions. Another likely area of debate is the scope of coverage—specifically which institutions and which categories of graduate workers qualify, including fellows and postdoctoral interns—because those definitions determine who can organize and bargain under the new unit structure.