(AP) -- Gov. Rick Snyder has signed a bill to block unionization efforts by graduate student research assistants at public universities.
The bill signing announced Tuesday was expected. It comes as some University of Michigan research assistants attempt to unionize.
The new law specifies that graduate student research assistants are not public employees as it relates to collective bargaining.
Democrats who opposed the bill say it attacks collective bargaining rights. Republicans who favor the legislation say it puts into law previous decisions by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission.
Snyder said that while graduate student research assistants "provide valuable efforts for universities, they are students first and foremost."
The Republican governor said considering them to be public employees with union representation would alter the "critical relationship" between students and teachers.
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