Yale is considering an appeal of the National Labor Relations Board’s decision last month allowing unofficial graduate student union Local 33 to hold separate elections in nine departments, according to University President Peter Salovey.

“We’re looking at our options,” Salovey said on Friday. “The most immediate question is whether to ask for a review in Washington of the decision by the regional NLRB.”

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If the University appeals the decision before the elections are held, the NLRB would most likely allow the elections to go forward before evaluating Yale’s request. But following the elections, the NLRB might choose to impound the ballots, delaying a vote count until after the appeal is decided, according to Stanford law professor William Gould, a former chairman of the NLRB.

“My view is that there should be impoundment, given the novelty of the issue and the potential for long-standing delays over hard-fought issues of first impression,” he said.

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Gould said he expects Yale to appeal the decision, given how aggressively the University has fought Local 33’s departmental election strategy since August.

“Yale has invested considerable time and energy in arguing for different units, so this is going to have a direct bearing on the representative structure that’s going to affect them,” Gould said. “On a matter so basic as this, I would imagine that in their view, that would argue for a review.”