Mass. hearing: students and unions press lawmakers to extend PFML and unemployment insurance to graduate workers

Graduate students, union leaders and labor and legal advocates testified before the Joint Committee on Financial Services in favor of S.747 and H.1336, bills that would make graduate student workers eligible for Massachusetts paid family and medical leave (PFML) and unemployment insurance (UI).

Supporters said graduate student workers perform the same teaching and research duties as other university employees but are carved out of state safety-net programs. "When I was employed by my university, I would not have had access to paid family medical leave or unemployment insurance," said Rebecca Eiderhoven, who identified herself as supporting H.1336 and S.747. "Your status as a student and a worker should not result in not having access to basic safety nets such as PFML and UI."

Why it matters: Testifiers said the exclusion…