Graduate Students for Academic Freedom v. Graduate Students United at UChicago

Recently, graduate students at the University of Chicago, where I teach, formed a labor union that now includes law students who engage in paid work as research assistants. Law students must either join the union and pay dues or pay agency fees, even if they do not join, in order to work as research assistants.

The union, Graduate Students United at the University of Chicago, is part of the United Electrical, Radio and Mine Workers of America and engages in political speech that some law students find objectionable. Some students, part of Graduate Students for Academic Freedom, filed a federal lawsuit against the union, arguing that the arrangement violates their First Amendment rights, citing cases like Janus v. AFSCME.

The complaint alleges that the union has a history of antisemitism and supports the BDS movement, making it unacceptable for some law students to fund these causes as a condition of employment. The lawsuit argues that forcing students to fund the union violates their freedom of conscience and association under the First Amendment.

The students involved in the lawsuit come from diverse backgrounds and are faced with difficult choices between funding the union or stopping their academic work. The lawsuit contends that the agency fee scheme imposed by the union restricts students’ ability to pursue expressive activities and is a violation of their First Amendment rights.

The lawsuit at the University of Chicago is seen as a clear example of an agency fee scheme that infringes on students’ First Amendment rights, according to the Supreme Court’s precedent in cases like Harris v. Quinn.