Worker Identity: The Case of Graduate Student Employees

Union organizing has swept U.S. campuses as graduate assistants formed a common identity as university employees. In this article, theories and empirical evidence relevant to worker identity formation are used as a basis for empirical research. The hypothesis that deteriorating career prospects have brought employee identity to the fore receives support from survey data. The traditional socialization process whereby graduate students become academic scholars and researchers is undergoing partial disintegration with the rise of more contingent employment in academia. Many graduate students continue to identify as apprentices, particularly those who receive strong support from faculty advisors, but this need not be a barrier to simultaneous identity as a worker in need of union representation.