A group of Penn State graduate students and employees is continuing to push for union representation.

The Graduate and Fixed Term Employees Organization (GFTEO) will soon gain a full-time organizer funded by a national labor union, and could be ready to hold a union election as early as this fall, members said at a meeting yesterday.

Greg Colón Semenza (graduate-English), part of the GFTEO's executive committee, told a group of about 25 faculty supporters that the American Federation of Teachers is helping the students maintain an office and a staff.

Penn State's administration has taken an official position against unionization for graduate students.

"The fundamental principle to which we subscribe is that students who come to Penn State for graduate education apply here primarily because they seek to earn advanced degrees," wrote Rodney Erickson, executive vice president and provost, in a January letter to faculty. "In short, they come to Penn State first and foremost as students, not to become employees of the university."

GFTEO members say they want an independent grievance policy, rights to intellectual property, better working conditions and improved benefits, such as dental care.

"Graduate students are here four, six, eight years who never go to the dentist," said Chad Lavin (graduate-political science), another member of the GFTEO executive committee.

Lavin also said graduate students have to pay more to get health insurance for their families.

Based on the people who attended the meeting yesterday, the GFTEO's strongest support seems to be from students and faculty in the College of Liberal Arts. Part of the process to establishing a union requires a majority of eligible members to support it in a vote.

It is still unclear how many of University Park's 6,200 graduate students would qualify for a labor union under Pennsylvania law.

An October ruling by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board gave some graduate students at Temple University the right to unionize. The vote to unionize has not happened yet at Temple, but could come soon, said GFTEO executive committee member Beth Widmaier (graduate-English).

Penn State faculty members are not part of a union, but some university employees are part of the Teamsters Union. Nationwide, unions represent graduate students at about 27 universities, Lavin said.