Harvard graduate students are not the only ones with a union election on the horizon.  Politico reports that the NLRB regional director has approved a bargaining unit — all student employees who provide instructional services — at Columbia University.  Students will vote on whether to join the Graduate Workers of Columbia-UAW (GWC-UAW) on December 7 and 8.

As Leora reported last week, Judge Marcia Crone, District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, has issued an injunction against President Obama’s “Fair Play and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order.  Now, the Washington Post explains, “administration officials are plotting how to proceed in the wake of Crone’s action.”  Just how the administration plans to proceed, however, remains unclear.

Southwest flight attendants have approved a new labor contract.  According to the Wall Street Journal, the two-year contract will raise their pay 12.5% and offer a signing bonus of around 16%.  More than 89% of eligible voters cast ballots in the election, with 54% voting in favor of the contract and 46% voting against it.  Next week, Southwest pilots will cast their votes on a new four-year contract that provides a compensation package comparable to that offered to pilots at the three largest U.S. airlines.