Partly mistreatment perhaps, but moreover gross incompetence by the administration. For years they’ve been unwilling or unable to fix the most basic issue: Mail delivery, sensible health insurance options, pay that tracks the cost of liming in university-owned housing.

They demonstrated that they weren’t able to make things work, so there was no choice but to escalate to a union. I won’t be surprised if heads roll in upper admin once the Board of Trustees realizes that there’s no going back from this vote. I’m sure the union will be a bureaucratic headache for everyone, it’s unfortunate it was necessary.

...or over promise them on what a union can deliver...no laws state that the union can't lie or misrepresent what they will get them in negotiations.

Something tells me Stanford grad students are smart enough to see through cheap ploys like the one you suggest. If that's not the case, maybe Stanford doesn't deserve the clout it enjoys.

This issue aside, they are not, and it does not. :)

On the other hand there are plenty of laws which prohibit union busting and falsely fearmongering about unionization, yet corporations get away with it anyway, even when found guilty.

So perhaps it is a good thing unions are allowed to over-promise, it balances the power structure, if only a tiny bit.