Good afternoon,
We want to inform you that 30 students have submitted objections under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to the disclosure of their information, and two students have taken the further step of filing a petition to prevent their information from being released to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and seeking to postpone the hearing set to begin on October 21 while these objections are considered. These students are being supported in these efforts by The National Right to Work Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides free legal advice and support on labor law related matters like this one.
We support the students in their actions to postpone the NLRB’s proceedings to allow time for these objections to be heard and resolved. Under federal privacy law, students have the legal right to object to the NLRB’s subpoena seeking information maintained by Vanderbilt as part of their educational records. We have filed for postponement with the NLRB in support of our students’ efforts to protect their privacy interests.
If any other students wish to object, please be aware that, barring postponement, Vanderbilt will be legally obligated to produce your information this Friday, October 18. The information produced to the NLRB would include your name, work location, job shift, and job classification. Please be aware that after this information is produced to the NLRB, it will also be shared with the UAW, who may use this information to contact you.
Vanderbilt intends to disclose this information as requested in the NLRB subpoena by 12:00 PM on October 18, 2024. This disclosure will include the requested information mentioned above unless we receive notice of your objection to the production of this information under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) by 5:00 PM on October 17, 2024.
While Vanderbilt cannot advise you on whether to object to this intended disclosure of personal information, if you choose to exercise your right to object, please submit your objection in writing to:
Additionally, please send copies of your objection to:
Sincerely,
C. Cybele Raver
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Vanderbilt University
