NATIONAL CENTER
for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions
E-Note
Follow Us on Twitter @HigherEd_CB for News from Around the Country
June 2019
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The National Center E-Note is a monthly electronic newsletter containing research and analysis relevant to unionization and collective bargaining.

In this issue:

  1. National Center Regional Conference, December 6-7, CSU Long Beach
  2. Call for Papers: 2020 National Center Annual Conference
  3. St. Petersburg College: Adjunct Faculty Election to Be Scheduled
  4. University of Pittsburgh: Remand Ordered on Faculty Petition Dismissal
  5. Florida Gateway College: SEIU Withdraws Representation Petition
  6. Ocean County College: Faculty Duty Preferences Mandatorily Negotiable
  7. State of Iowa: Failure to Negotiate in Good Faith with Faculty Union
  8. State of Iowa: Failure to Negotiate in Good Faith with GSE Union
  9. NY Legal Assistance Group: UAW Files Petition to Represent Employees
  10. Lakeshore Legal Aid: UAW Files to Represent Attorneys and Other Staff
  11. The Expansion of Collective Bargaining Rights in Four States
  12. Journal of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education
National Center Regional Conference, December 6-7, CSU Long Beach

Regional Conference on Higher Education
Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations
 
T he National Center will be holding another regional conference in California on December 6-7, 2019 at California State University, Long Beach.

Keynote Speaker : Ruben J. Garcia , Assistant Dean for Faculty Development and Research at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law. Professor Garcia is a specialist in labor and employment law, law and social change, immigration policy, and international human rights law.

Register now for the regional conference.

Below is a list of currently confirmed panels for the regional conference: Additional panels will be announced in the coming months.

Plenary: Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education with Frazier Benya, Senior Program Officer, Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Sharon Inkelas, Professor and former Chair of the Linguistics Department, University of California, Berkeley, Ana Avendano, President, Minga Strategies and former Assistant to the AFL-CIO President, and Karen Stubaus, Vice President for Academic Affairs,Rutgers University, Moderator.
 
Do Adjunct Faculty Have Academic Freedom? with Kristen Edwards, Lecturer in History and Political Science, Notre Dame du Namur University and Stanford University Continuing Studies; Deirdre Frontczak, Lecturer and member, Faculty Council at Santa Rosa Junior College; Edward Inch, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, California State University, East Bay, and Henry Reichman, Chair AAUP Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure and Professor Emeritus of History, California State University, East Bay; and author of The Future of Academic Freedom, Panelist and Moderator
 
Best Practices in Investigating and Responding to Disciplinary Issues with V. Jesse Smith, Representation Specialist, California Faculty Association, Missy A. Matella, Associate General Counsel, University of Oregon, and Andrea Dooley, Arbitrator (In formation)

Academic Student Workers and Immigration Status with Sandip Roy, President, UAW Local 4123, Alli Carlisle, Chief Negotiator, UAW Local 2865, Joseph J. Jelincic III, Senior Manager of Systemwide Labor Relations/Collective Bargaining Specialist, California State University, and Gary Rhoades, Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona, Moderator. (in formation)
 
Collective Bargaining in the Post-Janus Age with J. Felix De La Torre, General Counsel, California Public Employment Relations Board, Kerianne Steele, Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld, and Timothy G. Yeung, Sloan Sakai Yeung Wong LLP.

Best Practices in Preparing for Bargaining Impasses with Brian Young, Senior Labor Relations Representative, California State University Employees Union, John Swarbrick, Associate Vice Chancellor, Labor and Employee Relations, California State University, Jack Parham, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, and Loretta van der Pol, Director, California State Mediation and Conciliation Service, Moderator (in formation)
Call for Papers: 2020 National Center Annual Conference
The National Center has issued a Call for Papers for our 47th annual labor-management conference next year in New York City.  
 
The theme of the conference will be Inequality, Collective Bargaining, and Higher Education.
 
We welcome proposals involving recent research as well as proposals by authors of recently published books relevant to higher education, inequality, collective bargaining, labor relations, or labor history. 
 
Those interested in proposing a panel or workshop should upload an abstract by September 6, 2019 to 2020 Abstract Dropbox that includes a title and description along with a list of invited participants including their title, affiliation, and contact information. Questions concerning the call for papers should be emailed to 2020 National Center Annual Conference . 

Proposed Topics for Papers and Presentations

We seek proposed papers and presentations on relevant and timely topics including but not limited to the following: 
 
The Financing of Higher Education 
 
Negotiating Over Student Debt 
 
Pell Grants, College Affordability, and Inequality   
 
Resolving Accommodation Issues for Faculty, Staff, and Students  
 
Diversity: Best Practices for Faculty and Administrators 
 
Affirmative Action in Higher Education in the 21st Century    
 
Recruitment and Retention of Latina/Latino Faculty and Administrators 
 
Collective Bargaining Over Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation 
 
Higher Education, Immigration Status, and Enforcement 
 
Bargaining Over Wage Disparities on Campus 
 
Community College Collective Bargaining Issues 
 
W.E.B. Du Bois, Higher Education, and Labor  
 
Investigating and Handling Cases Involving Discipline 
 
Processing and Determining Contract Grievances 
 
Health and Safety: Best Practices on Campus  
 
Bargaining Over School Consolidations and Closures 
 
Non-NLRB Procedures for Private Sector Representation
 
Contingent Faculty, Job Security, and Academic Freedom   
  
Graduate Student Employee Unionization and Collective Bargaining 
 
The Meaning and Implications of the Strike Wave of 2018-19 for Higher Ed 
 
The Duty of Fair Representation in Faculty and GSE Representation  
  
New Developments and Research in Online Learning 
 
Collective Bargaining and Professional Employees 

Labor-Management Relations Involving Public/Private Partnerships 
 
Free Speech, Activism, and Controversies on Campus 

Proposed Topics for Interactive Workshops

We seek interactive workshop proposals for the 2020 annual conference. The following are some proposed topics:
 
Collective Bargaining for Administrators with New Bargaining Units 
 
Digital Technology for Union Membership Mobilization
 
Best Practices for Handling Employee Sexual Harassment Claims  
 
Leadership Training for Campus and Union Leaders 
 
Preparing and Presenting Grievances in Arbitration 
 
Developing Student Debt Clinics on Campus 
St. Petersburg College: Adjunct Faculty Election to Be Scheduled
Board of Trustees of St. Petersburg College , Florida PERC Case No. RC-2018-041

On May 28, 2019, the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (FPERC) issued a decision denying the exceptions filed by St. Petersburg College challenging a Hearing Officer's decision, which did not schedule an election concerning a representation petition filed by SEIU to represent the college adjunct faculty. Before the Hearing Officer, SEIU had argued that the election should be scheduled for the Spring semester while the college sought to delay the election under the Fall semester.

In its decision, FPERC directed that an election be held as soon as practicable concerning the following bargaining unit:

Included: All part-time adjunct faculty employed by St. Petersburg College who teach at least one credit-bearing course.
 
Excluded: All tenured and tenure-track faculty , full-time faculty , employees covered by an existing collective bargaining agreement, instructors for trainings operated by the Southeastern Public Safety Institute, full-time employees of the College who also teach a class as an adjunct instructor, administrators, guards, all supervisory, managerial, and confidential employees, and all other employees of St. Petersburg College .
University of Pittsburgh: Remand Ordered on Faculty Petition Dismissal
University of Pittsburgh, PLRB Case No. PERA-R-19-2-W

The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) issued an order on June 18, 2019 remanding a representation case involving University of Pittsburgh faculty for the purpose of holding of a hearing to determine the accuracy of an employee list submitted to the agency by the university during the processing of the petition filed by the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO (USW).

The PLRB order was in response to exceptions filed by USW challenging the April 9, 2019 dismissal of its representation petition by the PLRB Secretary. The dismissal was based on a factual finding that USW had failed to submit the necessary showing of at least 30% of the proposed bargaining unit. That factual finding was premised on the number of employees set forth in the university's list.

In addition to ordering the hearing, the June 18, 2019 PLRB order mandates that USW receive a copy of the list to enable it to raise factual and legal arguments with respect to the list's accuracy.
Florida Gateway College: SEIU Withdraws Representation Petition
Florida Gateway College Board of Trustees, FPERC Case No. RC-2018-045

The Florida Public Employees Relations Commission has issued an order granting SEIU's request to withdraw the petition it had filed to represent approximately 45 part-time faculty at Florida Gateway College.

The following was the unit that had been proposed in SEIU's representation petition:

Included: All part-time adjunct faculty employed by Florida Gateway College who teach at least one college credit course towards a degree.

Excluded: All tenured and tenure-track faculty, full-time faculty, faculty who teach non-college-credit or non-degree courses (including post-secondary vocational courses, certificate course, college prep courses, or continuing workforce courses), faculty who are required to have professional licenses, employees covered by an existing collective bargaining agreement, full-time employees of the College who also teach a class as an adjunct instructor, administrators, guards, all supervisory, managerial, and confidential employees, and all other employees of Florida Gateway College.
Ocean County College: Faculty Duty Preferences Mandatorily Negotiable
Ocean County College, NJ PERC Case No. 2019-49

On May 30, 2019, the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (NJPERC) issued a decision concerning a petition filed by Ocean County College about the negotiability of two provisions in its contract with the Ocean County College Faculty Association, which represents all full-time faculty, counselors and librarians.

The first relevant contractual provision states that bargaining unit members "shall be given preference to Faculty duties within their discipline, for which they are qualified."

The second provision concerning extra pay assignment priority states that full-time faculty "shall have preference, according to qualifications, as determined by the Department Dean or Vice President of Academic Affairs, to teach courses involving extra pay."

In its decision, NJPERC rejected the College's argument that the two provisions are not negotiable because they infringe on its managerial right to make staffing decisions. Instead, the agency found that the provisions are mandatorily negotiable because they are for the purpose of preserving bargaining unit work by giving preference to unit members to perform faculty duties.
State of Iowa: Failure to Negotiate in Good Faith with Faculty Union
State of Iowa (Board of Regents), IPERB Case No. 100798

On June 12, 2019, the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board (IPERB) issued a decision sustaining a complaint filed by UNI-United Faculty (AAUP IHEA) charging that the State of Iowa Board of Regents (BOR) engaged in a prohibited labor practice by failing to make counter-proposals and failed to bargain or attend mediation sessions aimed at reaching a successor agreement, effective July 1, 2017, with the union.

IPERB found that the totality of BOR's conduct following a December 15, 2016 bargaining session demonstrated that it failed to participate in negotiations with a good faith intent to reach an agreement. Among the facts cited by IPERB was BOR's failure to respond to proposals on evaluations and wages, and its deliberate delays of negotiations and the mediation.

However, the agency did not find it appropriate to order BOR to resume bargaining because the parties had signed an agreement that had already expired and Iowa's public sector statute has been substantially modified. Instead, IPERB ordered BOR to cease and desist from engaging in further violations of its duty to negotiate, and to post a notice about the order at the beginning of the fall semester.
State of Iowa: Failure to Negotiate in Good Faith with GSE Union
State of Iowa (Board of Regents), IPERB Case No. 10080

On June 14, 2019, the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board (IPERB) issued a decision finding that the State of Iowa Board of Regents (BOR) failed to negotiate in good with United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, Local 896 (COGS) for a successor agreement. The agency found that the totality of BOR's conduct demonstrated that it had intentionally delayed negotiations in anticipation of 2017 legislative measures to substantially limit public sector collective bargaining.

However, IPERB determined that the appropriate remedy for BOR's violations of its legal obligations was a cease and desist order prohibiting it from engaging in further violations of its duty to negotiate, and requiring it to post a notice about the order at the beginning of the fall semester.
NY Legal Assistance Group: UAW Files Petition to Represent Employees
New York Legal Assistance Group, NLRB Case No. 02-RC-243013

On June 7, 2019, the UAW filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking to represent professionals and other employees at the New York Legal Assistance Program.

On June 20, 2019, the NLRB issued a notice scheduling an on-site election on June 27, 2019 for the following voting groups:

UNIT A (PROFESSIONAL UNIT):

Included: Full‐time and regular part‐time Coordinating Attorney, Senior Staff
Attorney, and Staff Attorney employed by the employer during the payroll period ending June 15, 2019.

Excluded: All nonprofessional employees, non‐DAP Public Benefits Unit
Coordinating Attorneys, interns, unpaid fellows, law students, confidential employees, managers, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.

UNIT B (NON‐PROFESSIONAL UNIT):

Included: Full‐time and regular part‐time Administrative Clerk, Coordinating Paralegal,
Data Coordinator, Driver, Financial Counselor, Grants and Data Coordinator, Messenger & Clerical Assistant, Paralegal, Pro Bono Coordinator, Reception & Administrative Assistant, Receptionist, Senior Financial Counselor, Senior Paralegal, Special Projects Coordinator, Office Coordinator, and Volunteer and Program Coordinator employed by the employer during the payroll period ending June 15, 2019.

Excluded: All professional employees, Payroll Specialist, Senior Accountant,
interns, AVODAHs, unpaid fellows, law students, confidential employees, managers, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.

Also eligible to vote are all Drivers in the unit who have worked an average of four (4) hours or more per week during the 13 weeks immediately preceding the eligibility date for the election. Drivers shall be included in the bargaining unit if they have worked an average of four (4) hours or more per week during the 13 weeks immediately preceding April 1 to be determined every calendar year.

The parties also agreed that the following classifications may vote in the election, but their ballots will be challenged since their eligibility has not been resolved: Fellow, Temporary Staff Attorney, Temporary Paralegal, Development Coordinator, Grant Writer, Senior Grant Writer, Data Analyst, and Communications Coordinator. The eligibility or
inclusion of these individuals will be resolved if necessary, following the election.
Lakeshore Legal Aid: UAW Files to Represent Attorneys and Other Staff
Lakeshore Legal Aid, NLRB Case No. 07-RC-242887

On June 6, 2019, Local 2320, National Organization of Legal Services Workers (NOLSW), International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) filed a representation petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking to represent attorneys and non-professionals employed by Lakeshore Legal Aid in Michigan.

A notice has been issued by the NLRB schedulig a mail ballot election with a ballot count scheduled on July 18, 2019. The following are the applicable voting groups:

Unit A:

Included: All full-time staff attorneys employed by the Employer at its facilities located in St. Clair, Tuscola, Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, who were employed by the Employer during the payroll period ending Saturday, June 15, 2019.

Excluded: Guards and supervisors as defined in the Act, and all other employees.

UNIT B

Included: All full-time legal assistants, office managers, and office administrators employed by the Employer at its facilities located in St. Clair, Tuscola, Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, who were employed by the Employer during the payroll period ending Saturday, June 15, 2019.

Excluded: Those not eligible to vote are: Guards and supervisors as defined in the Act, and all other employees.
The Expansion of Collective Bargaining Rights in Four States
Four states have enacted recent legislation that expands unionization and collective bargaining rights for various groups of workers.

Nevada

Nevada has enacted legislative changes that grant collective bargaining rights to those employed in the classified service and work for state government as well as those who work for the Nevada System of Higher Education and who are in the state classified service or are paid in accordance with the pay plan for the classified service.

Exempted from the new grant of rights are managerial and confidential employees as well as individuals employed by the Nevada System of Higher Education who are not in the classified service or who are not required to be paid in accordance with the pay plan of the classified service. This exemption covers faculty and other professionals who already have collective bargaining rights under the Nevada System of Higher Education Professional Employee Collective Bargaining Regulations.

Washington

Effective July 28, 2019, State of Washington Assistant Attorney Generals will have the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining pursuant to changes in that state's public collective bargaining. law.

The State of Washington also enacted post-Janus legislation that allows for employee written, electronic, or voice authorization for the deduction of membership dues. Under the change, authorization will remain in effect until revoked in writing and in accordance with the terms of the original authorization. The amendment requires that a public employer rely on the information provided by the union concerning an authorization or revocation. These legislative changes also become effective on July 28, 2019.

Oregon

Oregon has enacted a new post-Janus law that grants new collective bargaining rights to public employees and their unions.

A. Union Leave and Release Time

The new law mandates a public employer to grant reasonable paid leave during the workday to employees who are designated union representatives to: 1. investigate and process grievances and other complaints; 2. attend investigatory meeting and due process hearings; 3. participate in arbitration and administrative hearings; 4. attend labor-management meetings; and 5. to provide information about the collective bargaining agreement to newly hired employees at employee orientations and meetings.

Under the new law, a Oregon public employer is required, upon a request from a union, to authorize release time to a designated representative. It also authorizes negotiations about release time.

B. Reasonable Access to Bargaining Unit Members

A public employer will now be required to grant the union reasonable access to unit members. Reasonable access must be granted to allow union representatives to meet with newly hired employees for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 120 minutes during the first 30 calendar days of employment. A union is also entitled to meet with unit employees during their regular work hours and work location to investigate grievances, and other workplace complaints. A public employer must allow the union to use the employer's facilities or property to conduct meetings with bargain unit employees.

C. Bargaining Unit Employee Information

A public sector union will now be entitled to receive from a public employer in an editable digital file format every 120 calendar days, the following information for each bargaining unit employee: 1. the employee’s name and date of hire; 2. contact information including:(i) cellular, home and work telephone numbers;(ii) any means of electronic communication, including work and personal electronic mail addresses; and (iii) home address or personal mailing address; and 3. employment information including the employee’s job title, salary and work site location. With respect to new employees in the bargaining unit, the public employer is required to provide the information within 10 calendar days from the date of hire.

D. Use of Employer's E-Mail System

The new law grants a public sector union the right to use the employer's electronic mail systems or other similar communication systems to communicate with bargaining unit employees regarding: 1. collective bargaining, including the administration of the contract; 2. the investigation of grievances and other workplace disputes; and; 3. matters involving the governance or business of the union.

E. Membership Dues Deductions

Under the new law, a public employer will be required to deduct dues, fees, and any other deductions authorized by a public employee and remit payment to the union. This dues deduction obligation applies also to a "non-certified, yet bona fide, labor organization" if so authorized by the public employee.

An employee dues deduction authorization can be made by telephonic communication or in writing, including by an electronic record or electronic signature.

A dues deduction authorization remains in effect until the public employee revokes the authorization in the manner provided by its terms. If the terms do not specify the revocation procedure, a public employee may revoke the authorization by delivering an original signed written statement of revocation to the union's headquarters.

New York

Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act

Following public hearings on April 25, April 26, and May 2, 2019, the New York State Legislature recently passed the historic Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act to grant collective bargaining and other rights to approximately 80,000-100,000 farm workers. It is anticipated that the bill will be signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo. When signed, the law will take effect on January 1, 2020.

The bill eliminates the exemption of farmworkers from New York's private sector collective bargaining law known as the State Employment Relations Act (SERA), which was originally enacted in 1937. On May 23, 2019, a state intermediate appellate court had ruled that the farm worker exemption violated the New York State Constitution, which states that "[e]mployees shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing."

Below is a review of some of the key provisions of New York Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act.

A. Employer Unfair Labor Practices

The bill creates new unfair labor practices that prohibits an agricultural employer from locking out its farmworkers, from refusing to continue all the terms of an expired agreement until a new agreement is negotiated, and from discouraging labor organizing or discouraging an employee from participating in a union organizing drive, engaging in protected concerted activity, or otherwise exercising the rights guaranteed under SERA.

B. Strike Prohibition

The bill provides that strikes, concerted work stoppages or slowdowns by farmworkers are not protected concerted activities. The bill also makes it an unfair labor practice for farmworkers or a union representing farmworkers to engage in a strike or other concerted work stoppage or slowdown.

The prohibition against strikes by farm workers is similar to the 1963 New York legislation that originally granted collective bargaining rights to private sector hospital workers in New York City, and the 1967 Taylor Law, which granted similar rights to public employees throughout New York.

C. Card Check Certification and Interest Arbitration

The Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act provides for the certification of a union on the basis of dues deduction authorizations instead of by an election when the choice for the farmworkers is limited to selecting or rejecting a single union, The bill also mandates interest arbitration for the resolution of contract impasses. It should be recalled that card check certification and interest arbitration were two central elements of the Employee Free Choice Act, a proposed federal law from a decade ago that would have amended the National Labor Relations Act.

D. A Day of Rest Each Week

The bill will grant farmworkers the right to at least 24 hours of consecutive rest in each calendar week.

E. 60-Hour Week and a Farm Laborers Wage Board

The bill removes the exemption of farmworkers from New York's Minimum Wage Act. Under the bill, farmworkers must be paid time and a half for all hours worked beyond 60 hours in a calendar week.

Under the bill, the New York State Department of Labor Commissioner will convene a Farm Laborers Wage Board. Following public hearings,the Farm Laborers Wage Board will be required to report to the Governor and the Legislature with its recommendations. The bill requires that the Wage Board to “specifically consider the extent to which overtime hours can be lowered below such amount set in law and may provide for a series of successively lower overtime work thresholds and phase-in dates.”

F. Workers Compensation

An agriculture employer will be obligated to provide workers’ compensation for its farm workers and post a notice with workers' compensation rules and regulations in English and Spanish.
Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, Vol. 10
Journal of CBA Logo
The National Center's Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, is a peer review multi-disciplinary journal co-edited by Jeffrey Cross, Eastern Illinois University (Emeritus), and Gary Rhoades, University of Arizona. The following are links to articles in Volume 10:

Op-Eds


Articles


Practitioner Perspectives 

Notes on the Same Side by Margaret E. Winters

We encourage scholars, practitioners, and graduate students in the fields of collective bargaining, labor relations, and labor history to submit research articles, op-eds, and practitioner perspectives for potential publication.The Journal is particularly interested in contributions related to collective bargaining and unionization issues in the post-Janus world.

The Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy is supported, in part, by a generous contribution from TIAA and is hosted by the institutional repository of Eastern Illinois University.
National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining
in Higher Education and the Professions
Hunter College, City University of New York
425 E 25th St.
Box 615
New York, NY 10010
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved.
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