Federal labor board to set 'standard' for student worker unions

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced last week that it plans to propose rules to serve as a "standard" for determining whether student workers at private colleges and universities are employees for the purposes of collective bargaining.Listed for September 2019, the proposed rules are expected to make it more difficult for student workers such as teaching and research assistants to unionize — a position an Obama-appointed board supported in 2016 in a case involving Columbia University. It was the latest in a series of alternating, politically-driven positions on the issue.Unions have been reluctant to bring a case to the NLRB under the Trump administration, fearing it would reverse the Columbia ruling. However, the unusual step of issuing a rule would break the trend of adjudicating the issue.