ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Graduate student workers at the University of Rochester will vote to decide whether to go on strike after union organizers say the university is preventing them from unionizing.

Graduate students gathered at the River Campus on Thursday for a rally. They’re hoping to form a union to bargain for higher stipends for students who teach or perform research at the university. The students say that UR leadership backed out of an agreement they made to hold a union election.

The UR Graduate Labor Union said the university is taking advantage of the Trump administration’s stances on organized labor.

If the university doesn’t agree to an election, the graduate workers would need to ask the National Labor Relations Board for an election. But union organizers say that attempt would likely fail because of the board’s leadership under President Donald Trump. In his first term, Trump tried to exclude college student workers from the National Labor Relations Act, which would mean they couldn’t unionize. The NLRB withdrew that proposal when Joe Biden took office.

Here’s a statement from the UR Graduate Labor Union:

“The U of R administration has officially announced that they are formally withdrawing from their own proposed agreement. The administration also signaled it will challenge graduate workers rights in court should they attempt to file for a union through the Trump-dominated National Labor Relations Board. This is in direct contradiction to the U of R administration’s previous statements to both the press and to the campus community that ‘the University supports the right of our PhD students to decide whether union representation is right for them’.”

In a statement, the U of R said it has never before agreed to enter a private election agreement with workers. Instead, workers typically get union recognition through the NLRB. The university also said a strike wouldn’t be the most effective means of resolving issues. Here is the full statement:

“While the University respects employees’ right to participate in a strike consistent with federal labor laws, it nevertheless, strongly believes that a strike by graduate students is neither in their best interest nor the most effective means of resolving the differences between the parties.”

“The graduate students are threatening a strike in an attempt to pressure the University into agreeing to enter into a private election agreement to recognize the union seeking to represent them — a process the University has never before agreed to — rather than the union pursuing recognition through the typical National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) process.  Indeed, every single one of the six bargaining units that exist at the University have been established as a result of an NLRB supervised election process; not one of them through a private election agreement. Additionally, the union is demanding the University take this unprecedented step in the current environment where all of higher education is facing uncertainty, and where the future landscape remains extremely difficult to predict and navigate.”

“The University hopes that a strike does not ultimately take place here.  However, we are steadfast in the belief that entering into a private election agreement at this time is not in the best interests of the University community at large.  As such, the University will not succumb to the union’s pressure tactics and has taken the necessary steps to put into place contingency plans that will minimize the disruption a potential strike might have on our academic mission, including all teaching and research activities. The graduate students are a vital part of our University community and, as such, we remain committed to ensuring their success.”

The graduate workers are represented by SEIU Local 200United. The group plans to hold a strike vote on Monday, March 24.