SB 166 — State Personnel: Collective Bargaining for Graduate Assistants & Postdoctoral Associates (summary)

Status / Timing
- Introduced: January 23, 2025 (filed for the 2025 session)
- Reported / committee analysis available (Finance / Education committees)
- Bill takes effect July 1, 2025 (unless otherwise specified in the text)

Purpose / Intent
- To extend public-sector collective bargaining rights to two categories of employees at Maryland public four‑year institutions:
- Graduate assistants (GAs) and
- Postdoctoral associates (postdocs).
- Targets institutions covered: University System of Maryland (USM) institutions, Morgan State University (MSU), and St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM).

Who would be covered
- Graduate assistant (defined): a graduate student employed as a teaching, administrative, or research assistant (or comparable position), or a fellow, at a USM institution, MSU, or SMCM.
- Postdoctoral associate (defined): an employee‑trainee at those institutions who holds a doctoral degree and whose assignments are primarily research (or a comparable position).

Key provisions
- Collective bargaining eligibility: GAs and postdocs would be eligible to organize and bargain collectively over terms and conditions of employment at the listed institutions.
- Bargaining units: Up to two separate exclusive bargaining units may be established at each affected institution — one unit for eligible graduate assistants and one unit for eligible postdoctoral associates.
- Oversight and procedure: The Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) would administer unit petitions, elections, and certification consistent with existing public‑employee collective bargaining procedures (e.g., petition thresholds, secret‑ballot elections, certification of an exclusive representative).
- Interaction with existing policy: The bill would change the current statutory exclusions that generally bar student employees and many contingent/temporary workers from collective bargaining.

Likely effects / fiscal impact (as analyzed)
- PERB: Minimal reimbursable revenues and expenditures increase (PERB would recover costs for elections and proceedings from the institutions).
- Institutions (USM and MSU): Potentially non‑trivial administrative and personnel costs to implement bargaining and to support negotiations and contract administration; possible salary, stipend, benefits, or other cost impacts depending on bargaining outcomes. SMCM reported little near‑term fiscal effect because it currently lacks graduate assistant/postdoc populations.
- State budget: The bill itself does not mandate particular contract terms; any increase in compensation or benefits arising from negotiated agreements would determine longer‑term state fiscal exposure (e.g., if negotiated increases are state‑funded).

Process notes (practical)
- Certification: Employee organizations seeking to represent a unit must follow PERB procedures (petition showing interest, election if appropriate, majority vote to certify).
- Scope: The precise subjects open to collective bargaining will be governed by applicable public‑sector collective bargaining law and PERB practice.
- Timing: With an effective date in mid‑2025, implementation steps (unit definition, petitions and elections, initial bargaining) would proceed thereafter.

Implications to watch
- Workforce/academic impacts: Collective bargaining could affect stipends, workload expectations (teaching/research hours), grievance procedures, job security, and benefits for GAs and postdocs.
- Institutional budgeting: Universities may need to adjust budgets or seek additional state support if negotiated agreements increase compensation or benefits.
- Precedence: Extends bargaining access to categories historically excluded (student employees / trainees), which could influence policy debates in other states or other employee categories.

For further detail
- The bill text and the Public Employee Relations Board rules will determine procedural specifics (petition thresholds, election mechanics, and permissible bargaining subjects). The committee fiscal analysis provides PERB and institutional cost estimates.