Ben Logsdon, a Ph.D. student in mathematics at Dartmouth College, is challenging union practices that he believes infringe on his religious rights. The issue arose when Graduate Organized Laborers of Dartmouth (GOLD-UE) union officials, affiliated with the United Electrical (UE) union, allegedly forced him to accept their representation despite his objections based on religious grounds.
In New Hampshire, Logsdon sought legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation against GOLD-UE. He filed federal anti-discrimination charges in September 2024 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), stating that he requested removal from the bargaining unit due to his religious beliefs but was denied accommodation by United Electrical General Secretary-Treasurer Andrew Dinkelaker.
Logsdon’s case follows a similar situation at MIT where Jewish graduate students opposed dues payments to an anti-Israel union. Meanwhile, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, three graduate students are resisting efforts by Vanderbilt Graduate Workers United (VGWU), affiliated with the United Auto Workers, to access their private information for unionization purposes. The students argue that such demands violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Foundation attorneys have filed motions for intervention on behalf of these students and assert that NLRB rulings under previous administrations have subjected graduate students to pro-union provisions that compromise their freedoms. The attorneys argue that subpoenas issued by NLRB Region 10 demanding personal student information infringe upon FERPA protections.
The National Right to Work Foundation supports these cases and has submitted Requests for Review asking the NLRB in Washington, DC, to address these privacy concerns. William Messenger, Vice President and Legal Director of the Foundation, commented on the broader implications of union practices in academic settings: “Graduate students around the country are discovering that union bosses don’t respect their individual rights and would rather use students as pawns.”
Messenger further criticized the imposition of union monopoly bargaining on individuals who do not wish to participate or pay dues under threat of termination.
