The Murphy Institute and the Scholars Strategy Network (NYC Chapter) have organized  a related half-day program on Friday March 24, 2017 from 12:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. The program will include two panels examining the history and lessons learned concerning contingent faculty working conditions and unionization in higher education. The program  will take place at the Murphy Institute, 25 East 43rd St. 18th floor in Manhattan.    

 

   

   

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

 

 

The Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy (JCBA) is the National Center's peer review journal co-edited by Jeffrey Cross, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Eastern Illinois University, and Steve Hicks, Associate Professor of English, Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.  

We encourage scholars, practitioners, and graduate students in the fields of collective bargaining, labor representation, labor relations, and labor history to submit articles for potential publication in future JCBA volumes.    

  Trustees of Columbia University, NLRB Case No.02-RC-143012

On March 6, 2017, NLRB Hearing Officer Rachel Mead Zweighaft issued a 41 page decision rejecting each of the campaign objections raised by Columbia University regarding the election conducted on December 7 and 8, 2016 concerning the unionization of student employees at Columbia University.   The tally of ballots demonstrated that the student employees had voted overwhelming in favor of unionization: 1602 in favor and 623 against.  In denying the university's objections , the Hearing Officer relied on the NLRB's objective standards for determining whether a party's conduct had the tendency of interfering with employees' freedom of choice in an election.   

Duke University, NLRB Case. No. 10-RC-187957

delivered a petition to Cornell University indicating its intent to file for a representation election with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under the May 2016 agreement reached with Cornell University. 

For an election to be scheduled under the agreement, CGSU must submit to AAA a showing of interest by at least 30% of the agreed-upon bargaining unit.  Cornell University has the option to require an arbitrator to review the showing of interest to determine validity. Once the 30% showing is confirmed, AAA will schedule and conduct a representation election.  If a majority of the bargaining unit votes in favor of representation Cornell University has agreed to voluntarily recognize CGSU as the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit.   

Boston College, NLRB Case No. 01-RC-194148

On March 3, 2017, the UAW filed a representation petition seeking to represent a unit of approximately 1,200 graduate and undergraduate student employees at Boston College.  The following is the description of the proposed unit set forth in the representation petition:

Included: All student employees who provide teaching, instructionally-related or research services, including graduate and under-graduate Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Graduate Assistants, Graders and Research Assistants (including those compensated through training grants), and all other Graduate Assistants compensated through monthly stipends. 

 

Excluded: All other employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.

The Coalition of Graduate Employees at Pennsylvania State University has filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board seeking to represent approximately 3,724 graduate student employees under that state's public sector collective bargaining law. 

On March 6, 2017 a judgment was issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, based on its February 2, 2017 decision, vacating an NLRB decision, which had found that Columbia College Chicago had violated its duty to bargain when it failed to negotiate with the Part-Time Faculty Association (PFAC) over the impact of the school's decision to reduce the number of credit hours for bargaining unit members. 

The federal appeals court reasoned that the management rights clause in the parties' contract granted the college "sole discretion" to change educational policies including modifying or altering any course, which included the right to alter course-credit hours.  It also found that the contract granted the college the right to make those changes without engaging in negotiations with PFAC over the impact of the decision.

Florida State University Board of Trustees, FPERC Case No. CA-2017-008

On February 15, 2017 the Florida Public Employess Relations Commission's General Counsel issued a decision summarily dismissing an unfair labor charge alleging that Florida State University had violated Florida's public sector collective bargaining law when it informed an unnamed AFSCME bargaining unit member that he or she was not entitled to union representation during a scheduled meeting.  The charge was dismissed because it failed to include a clear articulation of the alleged facts and circumstances that constitute an unfair labor practice including the name of the bargaining unit member, and facts that, if proven, would demonstrate that the employee had a reasonable belief that discipline might result from the meeting, which would trigger the right to union representation under the principles outlined in NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc., 420 U.S. 251 (1975).

The New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division issued a decision on February 8, 2017 concerning a lawsuit commenced by the Kean Federation of Teachers.  The lawsuit alleged that the Kean University Board of Trustees had violated New Jersey's Open Public Meetings Act by failing to make the minutes of two Board meetings promptly available to the public, and had terminated a Kean University faculty member without providing her with proper notice under the statute. .

The New Jersey state appellate court affirmed a lower court's decision that had found the Board's 94 day delay in releasing the minutes of one meeting, and its 58 day delay in releasing the minutes to the second meeting, violated the state Open Public Meetings Act.  As a remedy, the appellate court ordered the Kean University Board of Trustees to adopt a meeting schedule that will enable it to make its minutes "promptly available," as mandated by law.

The court also held that the Kean University Board of Trustees had violated the statue when it failed to send the faculty member a notice prior to its decision to not renew her appointment, and the court declared null and void all of the personnel actions taken at the Board's December 6, 2014 meeting.