AB191 would extend statutory collective‑bargaining rights to NSHE professional employees and graduate assistants, sponsors say

Assemblymember Nathal Anderson, sponsor of Assembly Bill 191, told the Assembly Government Affairs Committee the measure would authorize state statutory collective bargaining for professional employees of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), including academic faculty, non‑managerial administrative faculty, part‑time instructors and graduate assistants, if they choose to form bargaining units.

Proponents said AB191 would align NSHE faculty and graduate assistants with other Nevada public employees by allowing access to the Employee Management Relations Board (EMRB) and by clarifying unit formation, grievance procedures and arbitration mechanisms. Kent Irvin of the Nevada Faculty Alliance said the bill closely follows the collective bargaining provisions already in NRS Chapter 288 and would allow NSHE employees to use the EMRB "for resolution of negotiation and contract issues, which would save time and litigation."

Speakers described workplace problems facing graduate assistants (GAs) and faculty and said statutory bargaining rights would provide an independent, enforceable process. Graduate assistants testified about low pay, unpredictable contracts, alleged harassment and retaliation by supervisors, and long weekly hours that they said routinely exceed the 20‑hour contracts many hold. Clay Renshaw, a GA in chemistry at UNR, said more than 1,500 GAs across Nevada had signed union authorization cards to form Nevada Graduate Student Workers UAW and that NSHE had not provided a clear process to recognize the union.

Faculty and university governance leaders generally supported the measure as a way to strengthen shared governance and provide third‑party dispute resolution. Faculty Senate and Nevada Faculty Alliance speakers said collective bargaining does not replace shared governance but can enshrine faculty roles and provide enforceable remedies. Several faculty negotiators described bargaining topics such as workload, student‑support hours, grievance procedures and campus safety.

Opposition and concerns: the Vegas Chamber testified against AB191, saying it could expand collective bargaining in ways that affect state operations, budgets and the academic relationship between students and faculty. Valerie Conner, chair of the NSHE Faculty Senate Council of Chairs, testified in opposition, cautioning that collective bargaining risks introducing an adversarial dynamic that could undermine the flexibility needed for academic decision‑making and shared governance.

NSHE testified neutral through Alejandro Rodriguez, director of relations, noting that NSHE already has three collective bargaining agreements covering roughly 930 professional employees but that AB191 would extend access to about 22,000 professional employees under the proposed terms. NSHE said interim Chancellor Patty Charlton had met with graduate assistants and institution leadership to seek administrative solutions but the institution would take a formal position at its upcoming Board of Regents meeting.

Committee members pressed witnesses on scope and safeguards: whether the bill would require faculty to form unions (it would not), how bargaining units would be determined (community‑of‑interest standard), whether tenure or curriculum could be bargained (witnesses said tenure could be included if parties agreed and where it constitutes a working condition), and how arbitration, mediation and existing Board of Regents policies would interact with statutory processes. Supporters said AB191 preserves legislative and budget authority and would apply only to boards or commissions with more than 400 professional employees (currently NSHE). Opponents raised concerns about bargaining over curriculum or assignments that they said belong to academic bodies.

No committee vote was recorded at the hearing. The sponsor said she had met proponents and NSHE representatives and urged the committee to allow the legislative process to resolve outstanding questions.