PITTSBURGH — The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board has ruled that graduate assistants at the University of Pittsburgh fell short in a 2019 effort to unionize.

University officials disclosed the ruling involving graduate student employees Tuesday and said that effectively ends the drive to organize assistants who teach, do research and engage in other endeavors, a Pittsburgh newspaper reported.

Union organizers, however, say they are appealing.

The United Steelworkers several years ago petitioned the labor board for an election, citing card campaign numbers indicating that at least 30% of the potential bargaining unit supported the idea of a union.

By Associated Press