In a campus-wide email sent to faculty and students on Tuesday, Columbia University announced their intent to file an appeal to contest the September 2016 NLRB decision that expanded the definition of a worker to include graduate students. The letter states the administration’s refusal to collectively bargain with the graduate student union that was formed shortly after the decision, in December of 2016. Typically, labor board election rulings like this one are not appealable in the courts, but Columbia is raising objections to the union certification and requesting a court test of the union certification. The letter indicates that Columbia is seeking to prove that the board erred in its 2016 ruling when it found that graduate students are considered workers under federal law.
See "Columbia Seeks Review of Obama-Era Grad Student Union Rules", Josh Eidelson, Lawrence E. Dubé, Bloomberg BNA, January 31, 2018