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NATIONAL CENTER
for the
S
tudy of
C
ollective
B
argaining in
H
igher
E
ducation and the
P
rofessions
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Follow us on Twitter @HigherEd_CB for news from around the country
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Save the Date April 7-9, 2019: National Center's 46th Annual Conference
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COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AFTER JANUS
The National Center's 46th annual labor-management conference will be taking place on April 7-9, 2019 at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. The theme of next year's conference will be Collective Bargaining After Janus.
We are in the process of developing the program with panels and workshop tied with a post-Janus theme. We will be providing updates of confirmed panels and speakers in the upcoming monthly newsletters and on our website.
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Post-Janus: State Advisory Memoranda Updated and New California Law
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Post-Janus State Advisory Memoranda
Since the Supreme Court's decision in Janus v. AFSCME a number of states have issued advisory memoranda and executive orders that provide guidance concerning the decision.
The following are links to those state administrative actions:
New California Post-Janus Statute
Both before and after the
Janus decision, State legislatures have passed legislation modifying collective bargaining laws that will limit the adverse impact of the decision on collective bargaining in higher education and in other areas of public employment.
Last week, California Governor Brown signed into law SB 846 which limits the financial exposure of the state, public employers, and unions to lawsuits seeking reimbursement of agency fees that were collected prior to the Janus decision. The law applies to all pending and future lawsuits seeking reimbursement for fees collected prior the Supreme Court's decision.
The legislation states, in part, that:
The Controller, a public employer, an employee organization, or any of their employees or agents, shall not be liable for, and shall have a complete defense to, any claims or actions under the law of this state for requiring, deducting, receiving, or retaining agency or fair share fees from public employees, and current or former public employees shall not have standing to pursue these claims or actions, if the fees were permitted at the time under the laws of this state then in force and paid, through payroll deduction or otherwise, prior to June 27, 2018.
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Columbia University: Election Ordered for Unionization of Post-Docs
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Columbia University, NLRB Case No. 02-RC-225405
On September 18, 2018, NLRB Regional Director John J. Walsh, Jr. issued a decision and direction of election concerning a UAW petition seeking to represent a unit of postdoctoral researchers at Columbia University. In his decision, Regional Director Walsh rejected the university's argument that Postdoctoral Research Fellows employed by the university in the proposed unit were not employees under the National Labor Relations Act.
In rejecting that argument, the Regional Director distinguished earlier NLRB precedent that found Fellows employed by faculty members for research were not employees. In addition, the Regional Director relied upon the Board's 2016 decision in
Columbia University, 364 NLRB 90 (2016), which found that student research assistants funded by training grants were employees. In addition, he rejected the university's argument that the Postdoctoral Research Fellows were independent contractors.
The Regional Director determined that the following unit was appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining:
Included: All postdoctoral researchers who have received a doctorate or its professional equivalent who provide services to Columbia University, including Postdoctoral Research Scientists, Postdoctoral Research Scholars, Postdoctoral Research Fellows, Associate Research Scientists, and Associate Research Scholars.
Excluded: All other employees, including Postdoctoral Clinical Fellows and Postdoctoral Residency Fellows, guards and supervisor's as defined in the Act.
Lastly, he ordered the conduct of an on-site election on October 2 and 3, 2018 at five distinct locations on the Columbia University campus.
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| Florida Polytechnic Univ.: UFF Files Two Unfair Labor Practice Charges |
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Florida Polytechnic University, Case Nos. CA-2018-029 and CA-2018-084
United Faculty of Florida (UFF) is the
certified representative of the following collective bargaining unit at Florida Polytechnic University:
Included: All full-time employees of the Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees in the following lower division classifications: academic program coordinator, assistant librarian, assistant professor, associate professor, instructor, professor, and wellness counselor.
Excluded: All other employees of the Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees, including those in the following classifications: director and executive director, including director - Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Beneficiation and Mining Program, and director - Reclamation Program, temporary faculty, adjunct faculty, visiting faculty, provisional faculty, affiliate faculty, ombudsperson, laboratory technician, academic advisor, tutor, admissions counselor, campus fitness and recreation coordinator, vice-president and chief information officer, head librarian, graduate assistant, and academic success coach.
UFF has two unfair labor practice charges pending before the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission.
Case No. CA-2018-09
In the first charge, UFF alleges that the university engaged in an unfair labor practice when it abolished the positions of assistant librarian and wellness counselor, and summarily terminated the incumbents in those positions: Kate Bernard and Casey Fox. Both Bernard and Fox are members of the UFF negotiations team.
UFF alleges that the university's actions were in retaliation for the following protected activities under Florida's public sector collective bargaining law: the advocacy by UFF, Bernard, and Casey to have the contract terms applied to the assistant librarian and wellness counselor positions. The charge also alleges that the university failed to give UFF an opportunity to negotiate over its decision to abolish the positions or the impact of that decision.
Case No. CA-2018-084
UFF alleges in the second charge that two other UFF bargaining team members, Christopher Coughlin and Christina Drake, were retaliated against by the university when it failed to renew their contracts. The charge alleges that the non-renewal was in retaliation for Coughlin and Drake engaging in the following protected activities: asserting the right of a bargaining unit member to have representation during an interrogation; objecting to the university's attempt to stop unit members from speaking with students about faculty labor issues; and assisting with the prosecution of the unfair labor practice charge in Case No. CA-2018-09.
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Oregon Health & Science Univ: AFSCME Files to Represent GSE Unit
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Oregon Health & Science University, OERB Case No. RC-012-18
On August 29, 2018, Oregon AFSCME Council filed a
petition to represent a bargaining unit of approximately 251 graduate student employees at the Oregon Health & Science University. The following is the proposed unit identified in the petition:
All OHSU graduate students seeking Phd degrees who receive stipends, excluding supervisors, confidential employees, and managerial employees.
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Oregon State University: ULP Filed Alleging Misuse of State Funds
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Oregon State University, OERB Case No. UP-021-18
On August 13, 2018, United Academics of Oregon State University filed an
unfair labor practice charge with the Oregon Employment Relations Board alleging that Oregon State University violated that state's public sector collective bargaining law when it distributed and posted FAQs, as amended, concerning a faculty organizing drive taking place at the university. The union alleges that the FAQs constituted an attempt by the university to influence the decision of the faculty in violation of the state law that prohibits public employers from using "public funds to support actions to assist, promote or deter union organizing," and from interfering, restraining or coercing employees in the exercise of protected activities under that law.
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PASSHE: Arbitration Award Reinstating Math Professor Affirmed
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Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, Lock Haven v. APSCUF
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued a decision on August 31, 2018 rejecting a petition for review by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education seeking to overturn an arbitration award, which found that Lock Haven University lacked just cause to terminate a mathematics professor based on his 1990 conviction for a sexual relationship with a minor. The professor was first hired by the university in 2004, and was later granted tenure, promoted to full professor, and had his tenure renewed in 2014 after a regular post-tenure review.
In 2016, the professor was terminated after the university learned of his 1990 conviction and the details of his crime. A grievance challenging the termination proceeded to arbitration, and the arbitrator concluded the core issue was whether the professor's continued employment would be an unacceptable threat to student minors attending the university. Following a review of the university's justification for the discharge, the severity of the crime, the professor's unblemished academic career, the arbitrator concluded that the university lacked just cause for the termination. Although the arbitrator reinstated the professor, he ordered that the professor should not be assigned to classes or programs that admit dual enrollment students.
On review, the arbitration award was upheld by the court. It rejected the university's challenge to the arbitrator's decision to mandate that the professor, after his reinstatement, be excluded from teaching dual enrollment students. The court also rejected the university's argument that the award violated the public policy underlying Pennsylvania's Child Protective Services Law.
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PASSHE: ULP Alleging Animus Toward Athletic Coaches Dismissed
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Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, PLRB Case No. PERA-C-16-297-E
On August 21, 2018, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) issued a decision affirming the dismissal of an unfair labor practice charge filed by the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) alleging that the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) had engaged in anti-union animus. The unfair labor practice alleged that Pennsylvania's public sector collective bargaining law was violated when PASSHE notified the coaches represented by APSCUF of the policy of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) "Related to Possible Delays of Practice and Play." The policy was distributed after the APSCUF faculty and non-faculty athletic coaches had voted to strike in early September, 2016.
In dismissing the charge, PLRB found that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the PSAC, comprised of PASSHE and other institutions, was an alter ego of PASSHE. In addition, PLRB found that APSCUF had failed to demonstrate that PSAC was acting as an agent of PASSHE concerning the policy.
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USC: Appellate Argument Over Whether NTT Faculty Are Managerial
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University of Southern California v. NLRB, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Case No. 17-1149
On September 5, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard
oral argument in a legal challenge by the University of Southern California (USC) to an NLRB decision finding that USC had engaged in an unfair labor practice when it refused to negotiate with SEIU after it was certified to represent a bargaining unit that includes full-time and part-time non-tenure track faculty who teach at the USC Roski School of Art and Design.
In its appeal, USC challenges the test adopted by the NLRB in
Pacific Lutheran University,
361 NLRB 1404 (2016) for determining the managerial status of faculty under
NLRB v. Yeshiva University, 444 U.S. 672 (1980). In addition, it argues that non-tenure track faculty at the Roski School are managerial and excluded from coverage under the NLRA because of their participation in shared governance.
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NLRB Jurisdiction and Religiously-Affiliated Institutions, 2006-2018
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By William A. Herbert and Joseph van der Naald
In 1979, the United States Supreme Court in NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, 440 U.S. 490 (1979) (Catholic Bishop) ruled that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) should decline to assert jurisdiction over a representation matter concerning lay teachers at church-operated schools when the assertion of jurisdiction would create a significant risk of infringing on religious liberties protected under the First Amendment.
Over the years, some religiously-affiliated institutions in higher education have relied on the Catholic Bishop decision to object to NLRB jurisdiction over representation matters on their campuses. A central issue in that litigation has been the proper standard to be applied by the NLRB in determining a jurisdictional objection.
In Pacific Lutheran University, 361 NLRB 1404 (2016), the NLRB adopted a new two-part test for determining jurisdictional objections under Catholic Bishop. Under that test, an institution objecting to NLRB jurisdiction must meet a threshold requirement of demonstrating that it holds itself out as providing a religious educational environment. To satisfy that burden, the institution must present contemporary evidence such as "handbooks, mission statements, corporate documents, course catalogs" and material on the institution's website that demonstrate it provides a religious educational environment.
If the institution meets that threshold requirement, it "must then show that it holds out the petitioned-for faculty members themselves as performing a specific role in creating or maintaining the college or university's religious educational environment, as demonstrated by its representation to current or potential students and faculty members, and the community at large." To meet that burden, the institution has to present evidence of public statements that faculty perform a specific religious function. Relevant evidence would include "job descriptions, employment contracts, faculty handbooks, statements to accrediting bodies, and statements to prospective and current faculty and students" articulating the faculty's specific role in the provision of a religious educational environment.
There are four cases pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging the Pacific Lutheran University test, and the NLRB's assertion of jurisdiction: Manhattan College v. NLRB, Case No. 18-1113; Saint Xavier University v. NLRB, Case No. 18-1076; Saint Xavier University v. NLRB, Case No. 18-1086; and Duquesne University v. NLRB, Case No. 18-1063.
The representation cases at Manhattan College and Duquesne University involve non-tenure track faculty, and the cases at Saint Xavier University concern non-tenure track
faculty and housekeeping staff. The outcome of those cases will likely impact the legal parameters for utilizing NLRB procedures by faculty, graduate students, and other employees who seek to unionize at religiously-affiliated colleges and universities.
In the Duquesne University case, the AAUP filed an amicus brief defending the NLRB's Pacific Lutheran University test as protecting the "autonomy of religiously-affiliated universities to define faculty positions that require performance of religious functions." In its brief, the AAUP compared the test applied by the NLRB to the limitations clause in the AAUP's 1940 Statement of Principles of Academic Freedom and Tenure, which states: "Limitations of academic freedom because of religious or other aims of the institution should be clearly stated in writing at the time of the appointment."
The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) has also filed an amicus brief. In its brief, ACCU supports the university's challenge to the NLRB's Pacific Lutheran University test. In objecting to the test, ACCU notes that: "To be clear, this case is about the Board' s jurisdiction, not about the natural rights of employees. The Catholic Church supports the moral right of workers to organize and bargain collectively, and Catholic colleges and universities support that teaching." Absent from ACCU's brief, however, is mention of alternative non-NLRB procedures that might be adopted for determining representation issues
that can avoid NLRB jurisdictional disputes and effectuate the Church's stated support for the right to organize and collectively bargain.
Under present law, a religiously-affiliated institution has the discretion to accept NLRB jurisdiction over a representation matter, challenge the assertion of jurisdiction, or agree to a non-NLRB procedure to determine whether a union has the support from a
majority of the bargaining unit.
A
list
of Catholic institutions of higher education with current collective bargaining relationships is maintained by the Catholic Labor Network on its website.
Institutional consistency concerning the question of NLRB jurisdiction is not mandated under the law
. In 2009-10, Saint Xavier University did not object to the agency asserting jurisdiction with respect to an ultimately unsuccessful unionization effort by non-tenure track faculty. A few years later, the same school is pursuing appellate litigation challenging the NLRB's assertion of jurisdiction over subsequently filed representation petitions involving non-tenure track faculty and the university's housekeepers. Manhattan College accepted NLRB jurisdiction in 2007 over a petition filed to represent its campus security but continues to litigate its jurisdictional objection regarding a 2010 petition concerning its adjunct faculty. A similar inconsistency occurred when Boston College acceded to NLRB jurisdiction when its telephone operators unionized but objected to the assertion of jurisdiction when a subsequent petition was filed to represent its graduate student employees.
As part of its research mission, the National Center has examined NLRB data concerning all representation efforts in private sector higher education beginning in 2006 to determine the frequency and consistency of jurisdictional objections raised by religiously-affiliated institutions. The data was obtained through FOIA requests and from information posted on the agency's website. We identified those institutions in the NLRB data who state on their websites that they abide by a particular religious tradition or maintain an affiliation with a particular religion. We then examined whether those schools objected to the NLRB asserting jurisdiction over representation cases involving their faculty, graduate student employees, and non-academic labor on campus.
The following is a summary of our findings:
| Percentage of All Cases With Jurisdictional Objections |
Percentage of Faculty & GSE Cases With Jurisdictional Objections |
Percentage of Non-Academic Labor Cases With Jurisdictional Objections |
Total of Faculty & GSE Cases |
Total of Non-Academic Labor Cases |
| 21.31% |
35.29% |
3.57% |
34 |
28 |
T
he following charts identify each institution, the state where it is located, whether it objected to NLRB jurisdiction, the unit composition, and the religious affiliation.
The first chart presents information for representation cases involving faculty and graduate student employees. The second chart sets forth the information as it relates to cases involving non-academic labor.
| Institution |
State |
Objection |
Unit Composition |
Affiliation |
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American University
|
DC
|
No
|
Faculty
|
Protestant
|
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American University
|
DC
|
No
|
GSE
|
Protestant
|
|
Augsburg College
|
MN |
No |
Faculty |
Protestant |
|
Boston College
|
MA
|
Yes |
GSE |
Roman Catholic |
| Carroll College |
MT |
Yes |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| College of Saint Rose |
NY |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Dominican Univ. of California |
CA |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Duquesne University |
PA |
Yes |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Elmhurst College |
IL |
Yes |
Faculty |
Protestant |
| Fordham University |
NY |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Georgetown Univ. |
DC |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Holy Names Univ. |
CA |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
|
LeMoyne College
|
NY |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Loyola University Chicago |
IL |
Yes |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Loyola University Chicago |
IL |
Yes |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
|
Loyola University Chicago
|
IL |
Yes |
GSE |
Roman Catholic
|
| Manhattan College |
NY |
Yes |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Marywood University |
PA |
Yes |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Notre Dame de Namur University |
CA |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Notre Dame de Namur University |
CA |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Pacific Lutheran University |
WA |
Yes |
Faculty |
Protestant |
| Saint Francis College |
NY |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Saint Louis University |
MO |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Saint Martin's University |
WA |
Yes |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
|
Saint Xavier University
|
IL
|
No
|
Faculty
|
Roman Catholic
|
|
Saint Xavier University
|
IL
|
Yes
|
Faculty
|
Roman Catholic
|
| Seattle University |
WA |
Yes |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Siena College |
NY |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Siena College |
NY |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| St. Catherine University |
MI |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| St. Mary's College of California |
CA |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| St. Michael's College |
VT |
No
|
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Trinity Washington University |
MD |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| University of Saint Thomas |
MN |
No |
Faculty |
Roman Catholic |
| Institution |
State |
Objection |
Unit Composition |
Affiliation |
| American University |
DC |
No |
Bus Drivers |
Protestant |
| Boston College |
MA |
No |
Telephone Operators |
Roman Catholic |
| Carlow University |
PA |
No |
Campus |
Roman Catholic |
| Carlow University |
PA |
No |
Police & Dispatchers |
Roman Catholic |
| Carlow University |
PA |
No |
Campus Security |
Roman Catholic |
| Catholic University |
DC |
No |
Carpenters |
Roman Catholic |
| Catholic University |
DC |
No |
Custodians |
Roman Catholic |
| Catholic University |
DC |
No |
Campus Security
|
Roman Catholic |
| Catholic University |
DC |
No |
Campus Security |
Roman Catholic |
| College of Saint Rose |
NY |
No |
Housekeeping |
Roman Catholic |
| College of Saint Rose |
NY |
No |
Campus Security |
Roman Catholic |
| College of the Holy Cross |
MA |
No |
Campus Security |
Roman Catholic |
| Drew University |
NJ |
No |
Campus Security |
Protestant |
| Fairfield University |
CT |
No |
Maintenance |
Roman Catholic |
| Georgetown Univ. School of Law |
DC |
No |
Campus Security |
Roman Catholic |
| Kenyon College |
OH |
No
|
Maintenance |
Protestant |
| Kenyon College |
OH |
No
|
Campus Security |
Protestant |
| LaSalle University |
PA |
No |
Campus Security |
Roman Catholic |
| Loyola University of Chicago |
IL |
No |
Campus Security |
Roman Catholic |
| Manhattan College |
NY |
No |
Campus Security |
Roman Catholic |
| Marquette University |
WI |
No |
Custodians |
Roman Catholic |
| Marquette University |
WI |
No |
Campus Security |
Roman Catholic |
| Molloy College |
NY |
No |
Maintenance |
Roman Catholic |
| Notre Dame College |
OH |
No
|
Campus Security |
Roman Catholic |
| Providence College |
RI |
No |
Service Employees |
Roman Catholic |
| St. Michael's College |
VT |
No |
Custodians |
Roman Catholic |
| Saint Xavier University |
IL |
Yes |
Housekeeping |
Roman Catholic |
| Saint Joseph's University |
PA |
No |
Campus Security |
Roman Catholic |
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Harvard University: GSE Union Releases Bargaining Goals
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The Harvard Graduate Student Union-United Auto Workers (HGSU-UAW) has posted their bargaining goals for the upcoming negotiations with Harvard University for a first contract.
The goals include equity and inclusivity; improved compensation and health benefits; job security and transparency; protections for international student employees; leaves of absence and improved childcare and dependent benefits; improved transportation services and enhanced access to affordable housing; enhanced training and professional development; financial stability protections; and union recognition, release time, a grievance-arbitration procedure, and union security.
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Lake-Sumter State College: Mail Ballot Election Scheduled
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Lake-Sumter State College Board of Trustees, FPERC EL18011
On August 8, 2018, the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (FPERC) issued a Notice of Election concerning a representation petition filed by the United Faculty of Florida to represent a unit that includes full-time tenure track faculty at Lake-Sumter State College of Board of Trustees. The Notice of Election requires that all mail ballots be received by FPERC by October 2, 2018. The ballots will be tallied at 2:00 p.m. that day.
The following is the at-issue bargaining unit:
Included: Instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor, senior professor, librarian,lecturer, full-time temporary instructor, assistant department chair, and instructor/applied nursing simulation lab coordinator.
Excluded: All managerial, administrative, supervisory, and confidential employees including, but not limited to, those job titles categorized as follows: administrative and professional, career service, other professional services, part-time employees, adjunct faculty, acting or interim faculty, program manager, department chair, and all other employees of the College not expressly included.
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New School: UAW Files Petition to Represent Professional Unit
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New School, NLRB Case No. 02-RC-227006
On September 7, 2018, the UAW filed a petition seeking to represent a unit of approximately 19 professional employees at the New School. The following is the petitioned-for unit:
Included: All full time and regular part time counselors, nurses, midwives, doctors, and including LCSWs, MD's, PhD's, RPA-C's, RN's, MPH's, RDNs, PSYDs, CNMs, and MCHES's and anyone with substantially equivalent qualifications who conducts similar work at the employer's facility.
Excluded: All other employees, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.
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Catholic University: Petition Seeks Representation of Campus Security
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Catholic University, 05-RC-227685
On September 17, 2018, the International Union, Security, Police & Fire Professionals of America filed a petition seeking to represent approximately 30 full-time at part-time special police officers at Catholic University. The following is the unit sought:
Included: All full-time and regular part-time Special Police Officers SPO's performing guard duties as defined in Section 9(b)(3) of the Act employed by the Employer;
Excluded: All other employees, office clerical employees, professional employees and supervisors as defined by the Act.
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Announcement: CUNY Fellowships
in Critical University Studies
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CUNY Graduate Center ARC Critical University Studies Research Track
The ARC invites proposals that
examine the role of higher education, especially public universities, at the intersection of issues of race, class, gender, culture, political economy, and politics. Growing out of theoretical developments in the fields of Cultural Studies and Critical Legal Studies, CUS critically examines the institutional structures, purposes, and ideologies of public higher education. The CUS field has grown and its practitioners have proliferated at a range of public universities in the past few years, including in the University of California, University of Wisconsin, and CUNY systems. Two major presses have announced CUS series (John Hopkins University Press and Palgrave UK). A number of scholars, including CUNY faculty and graduate students, are working on or have worked in the past on public higher education issues and projects.
CUS research topics might include:
- the political economy of government funding of public higher education and the impact of government budget cuts and concomitant rise in tuition costs in public universities
- the history of public university systems nationally and internationally
- issues of meritocracy vs. open access at public universities and the impact of those divergent ideologies on the historical and contemporary demographic make-up of public universities
- the impact of technological changes on public university teaching and learning
- curricular transformations and challenges, including the creation of alternative pedagogies and fields of scholarly inquiry (e.g. ethnic/gender/sexuality studies; digital humanities) and related challenges to existing curricula (e.g., the humanities "crisis")
- the dramatic growth in administrative hiring, costs, and business practices in public universities
- the differential impact of budget cuts and increasing austerity in public institutions on students of color and poor and working-class students
- neoliberal attacks over the past four decades on public institutions in general and public universities in particular by politicians and business interests intent on privatizing public goods like education
- the rise of contingent academic labor and its impact on the structure, function, and very purposes of public higher education
- the history of academic unionism and analyses of its current status at public institutions
- oppositional responses of college faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students, and the larger communities they serve to the funding cuts and disciplining faced by public higher education systems around the country as public demands for access have increased
- the narrowing gauge of what is considered appropriate or acceptable curricula in public institutions and the scrutiny/surveillance of scholarship and teaching faculty and staff, not least in social media and its discourses.
The ARC is especially interested in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary proposals that call on humanistic inquiry and innovative methodologies. We particularly welcome researchers from the human and social sciences and the humanities who have undertaken creative approaches to documenting, analyzing, and interpreting public university structures and who have undertaken archival and ethnographic research on public university life.
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Announcement: Wertheim Fund Labor Law Academic Fellowships
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Wertheim Fund Labor Law Academic Fellows
Harvard Law School's Labor and Worklife Program invites applications for appointment as a Wertheim Fund Labor Law Academic Fellow. Wertheim Fund Labor Law Academic Fellows are promising labor lawyers with high academic achievements, a commitment to advancing labor law scholarship, and a strong interest in teaching. The Fellows will devote themselves to scholarship in preparation for entry into the teaching market and will contribute to the intellectual life of the Labor & Worklife Program.
Fellows' research topics must relate to how labor law is evolving in response to innovative forms of labor management relations or to changes in the labor markets. Topics may include legal status of privately negotiated processes for organizing and recognizing unions; state, local or international approaches to labor law innovation; new forms of workplace organization, including those that rely not on the National Labor Relations Act but on other statutory regimes; the intersection of labor and immigration law; mechanisms for consideration of worker interests in the political process; and legal responses to changes in the labor market, including processes for collective action among people who derive income from the "gig economy."
It is assumed that the bulk of the Fellow's time will be devoted to scholarship. Professor Benjamin Sachs, Kestnbaum Professor of Labor and Industry, will provide mentoring for the fellow and facilitate mentoring relationships with other HLS faculty. In addition, the Fellow will be expected to collaborate with the Executive Director of the Labor & Worklife Program Sharon Block on labor-law related programming conducted throughout the fellowship year. Fellows will have the opportunity to present their research findings in a Labor and Worklife Program-sponsored event during the fellowship year.
The program anticipates providing one, two-year fellowship commencing in the fall of 2019. The fellowship stipend will be approximately $50,000 per year.
A J.D. degree is required. Experience practicing labor or employment is not required, but will be considered favorably. To apply, submit a cover letter; your resume and law school transcript; two or three letters of recommendation, one of which should be from a recommender familiar with your experience practicing labor and employment law, if applicable; and one scholarly writing sample. Either your cover letter or a separate research agenda should discuss in detail the research project(s) you intend to undertake as a fellow.
Applications are due by December 15, 2018 for the 2019-20 term, and should be sent to:
Wertheim Academic Fellowship
Harvard Law School
50 Church Street, Floor 3
Cambridge, MA 02138
or via email to
lwp@law.harvard.edu (subject line: Wertheim Academic Fellowship.
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Job Posting: Work and Family Researchers Network Executive Officer
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Work and Family Researchers Network
T
he Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN) is currently seeking an experienced professional for the position of Executive Officer.
The WFRN is a non-profit (501-c-3) membership organization. We are an interdisciplinary and international community of work and family researchers that also welcomes the participation of policy makers and practitioners. The mission of WFRN is to promote knowledge and understanding of work and family issues among the community of global stakeholders.
As a fairly new organization, we are in search of an Executive Officer who can help create an exciting, relevant, and sustainable plan for WFRN moving forward. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations of the association, the Executive Officer will need to represent work and family scholarship and cultivate enthusiasm for the association and its work. The Executive Officer works collaboratively with the elected WFRN Executive Committee (which functions as the board of the association). The position is designed as a supplement to a faculty position (e.g., providing summer salary or a stipend) or may be administered as an independent contract.
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| Job Posting: UMass History Department and Labor Studies Program |
The History Department and the Labor Studies program of the University of Massachusetts Boston invite applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in Public History effective September 1, 2019.
Teaching duties will include an introductory, interdisciplinary course in Labor History, upper-level courses in U.S. Labor/Working Class History, and Public History courses. The successful applicant will also serve as the Associate Director of the University's Labor Resource Center, contributing to the enhancement of the center through research, teaching, and program development (https://www.umb.edu/lrc). Responsibilities in the History Department will focus on working with the Director of the Public History track to support the program and develop the curriculum, and advising students, capstones, and theses.
A Ph.D. in History, Public History, or a closely related field is required. Candidates must demonstrate a strong commitment to scholarship and teaching and have an active research agenda. The search committee will also be looking for teaching experience, a track record as a practicing Public Historian, and commitment to working collaboratively with community and history stakeholders.
For more information please contact the search chair at tim.hacsi@umb.edu. Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2018 and continue until the position is filled.
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Job Posting: Assistant Provost for Academic and Labor Relations
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Oregon State University's Office of Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs seeks to fill the position of Assistant Provost for Academic Employee and Labor Relations. The Assistant Provost will report to the Senior Vice Provost. This position is a 12 month 1.0 FTE, fixed-term benefits-eligible professional faculty position. Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications and the Assistant Provost will start as soon as possible.
The Assistant Provost for Academic Employee and Labor Relations is responsible for the management of academic employee and labor relations as well as the management of collective bargaining negotiations and contract administration, progressive discipline and grievances in a manner that supports positive and professional relationships with employees, union representatives, supervisors, managers and administrators.
For additional information please contact:
Sara.Daly@oregonstate.edu
. The search committee is chaired by Dr. Dan Edge, Associate Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences.
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Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy
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The Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy is the National Center's peer review multi-disciplinary journal that is co-edited by Jeffrey Cross, Eastern Illinois University, and Gary Rhoades, University of Arizona.
We encourage scholars, practitioners, and graduate students in the fields of collective bargaining, labor representation, 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 a post-Janus world.
The following are articles published in the latest Journal volume:
Op-Eds
The Slippery Slope of "Unique" by Daniel J. Julius counters the commonly held notion among academics that their collective bargaining is essentially different from other bargaining units.
Articles
The History Books Tell It? Collective Bargaining in Higher Education in the 1940s by William A. Herbert examines the little-known history of collective bargaining in higher education from the 1940s including the collective bargaining program instituted by the University of Illinois and the role of United Public Workers of America and its predecessor unions in negotiating the first contracts for faculty before the union was destroyed during the McCarthy era.
Practitioner Perspective
The Accidental Academic: Reflections on 50 Years in Academic Collective Bargaining by William Connellan gives a retrospective from a 50-year veteran in academic labor relations that reminds us of the complexity of bargaining, with not only the internal tensions, but the external dimension to what happens at the bargaining table.
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.
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National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining
in Higher Education and the Professions
425 E 25th St.
Box 615
New York, NY 10010
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