In a decision that could affect all private universities in the nation, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled Tuesday that graduate students who are paid to teach or do research have the right to unionize.

The ruling could allow Harvard graduate students to unionize, but University officials and graduate students said graduate students here are unlikely to do so in the near future.

The 17-page ruling, delivered Wednesday, came in response to a challenge by New York University (NYU) to a regional labor board decision in April that sided with the 1,500 graduate students who held an election to decide whether to unionize.

The four-member NLRB ruled that "graduate assistants perform services under the control and direction of the Employer" and thus have "statutory rights to organize and bargain with their employer."

NYU's Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC), which has attempted to form a union affiliated with the United Auto Workers, voted in April on whether to unionize. The ballots, which were not counted then because of NYU's appeal, will be counted next Wednesday. If pro-union votes receive a simple majority, the GSOC will be able to form a union.

GSOC member and NYU graduate teaching assistant Michael E. Gasper said he was "ecstatic" when he heard the news.

"We expected it but I was still extremely happy," he said

The NLRB decision cannot be appealed to another labor board, but NYU may choose to go to court to avoid having to recognize the union.