NATIONAL CENTER
for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions
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July 2019
Welcome to the latest issue of the National Center's monthly newsletter.

While we all regroup, read, and write over the summer, we want to share with you some recent research-based stories concerning collective bargaining and unionization, as well as share with you some books upon on our shelf.

We also want to remind you to register for our upcoming regional conference on December 6-7, 2019 at California State University, Long Beach, and to submit abstracts in response to our Call for Papers for our 2020 Annual Conference by September 6, 2019

In this month's newsletter, we have news about the appellate argument last week in a case brought by a Maine professor challenging exclusive representation, the statutory expansion of collective bargaining rights in Maine, an arbitration award sustaining a grievance at Barnard College, a decision upholding unfair labor practice charges against Florida Polytechnic University, a decision dismissing a charge against the City Colleges of Chicago, a new USW petition seeking to represent Carnegie Library employees, new certified unions at museums, performing arts institutions, and legal services organizations, and more.

Scroll down to see all of the featured stories, keep up-to-date and get informed. And, as
always, if you have comments or story ideas please email us or contact us on Twitter.
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, 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 John Swarbrick, Associate Vice Chancellor, Labor and Employee Relations, California State University, Brian Young, Senior Labor Relations Representative, California State University Employees Union, Jackson E. Parham, Attorney, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, Carolyn Richie, Field Representative, California Federation of Teachers, and Loretta van der Pol, Director, California State Mediation and Conciliation Service, Moderator.
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 on March 29-31, 2020.  
 
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 Education
 
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 
Summer Reading 2019
Summer is a great time to catch up on books, related and unrelated to teaching, scholarship, and other professional responsibilities.

The following are some books that we have been reading this summer:

Sophia Z. Lee, The Workplace Constitution: From the New Deal to the New Right (Cambridge University Press, 2014)
 
Andrew Feffer, Teachers, Liberalism, and the Origins of McCarthyism (Fordham University Press, 2019)
 
Herb Childress, The Adjunct Underclass: How America's Colleges Betrayed Their Faculty, Their Students, and Their Mission (University of Chicago Press, 2019)
 
Henry Reichman, The Future of Academic Freedom (Johns Hopkins Press, 2019)
 
Gerard Koeppel, City on a Grid: How New York Became New York (Da Capo Press, 2015)
 
Eric Blanc Red State Revolt: The Teachers' Strikes and Working-Class Politics
(Verso, 2019)
 
Jon Shelton, Teacher Strike!: Public Education and the Making of a New American Political Order (University of Illinois Press (2017)
 
Jake Rosenfeld, What Unions No Longer Do (Harvard University Press, 2014)
 .
Lane Windham, Knocking on Labor’s Door: Union Organizing in the 1970s and the Roots of a New Economic Divide (University of North Carolina Press, 2017)
 
Michael McCarthy, Dismantling Solidarity: Capitalist Politics and American Pensions since the New Deal (Cornell University Press, 2017)
 
David Webber, The Rise of the Working-Class Shareholder: Labor’s Last Best Weapon
(Harvard University Press, 2018)

Nuala McGann Drescher, William E. Scheuerman, and Ivan D. Steen, United University Professions: Pioneering in Higher Education Unionism (SUNY Press, 2019)
 
What are you reading? Let us know. Email us the authors and titles from your summer reading so that we can share it with our growing National Center community.
Reisman v. Associated Faculties: Challenge to Exclusive Representation
Jonathan Reisman v. Associated Faculties of the University of Maine, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

An appeal by University of Maine Professor Jonathan Reisman challenging the constitutionality of exclusive representation under Maine's higher education collective bargaining statute was heard last week by the United States Court of Appeals. The appeal is from a December 2018 dismissal of Professor Reisman's lawsuit by a United States District Court judge.

This is an important post- Janus case to follow because it might ultimately provide the Supreme Court's conservative majority with an opportunity to reverse its precedent and determine for the first time that representative democracy in the workplace is unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

A review of the audio recording of the oral argument demonstrates that Professor Reisman's constitutional claim in the Court of Appeals was not well received, particularly in light of strong adverse precedent in Minn. State Bd. for Cmty. Colleges v. Knight, 465 U.S. 271 (1984) and D'Agostino v. Baker, 812 F.3d 240 (1st Cir. 2016), cert. denied , ––– U.S. ––––, 136 S.Ct. 2473 (2016).
Maine Expands Collective Bargaining Rights for Public Employees
On June 19, 2019, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed into law post- Janus amendments to that state's public sector collective bargaining law requiring all public employers to grant a certified or recognized labor union with reasonable access to its bargaining unit members.

Under the new law, public higher education institutions must allow a union to meet with individual unit employees "on the premises of the university's, academy's or community college's workplace during the work day to investigate and discuss grievances, workplace-related complaints and other workplace issues."

The law also grants a union the "right to conduct workplace meetings during lunch and other breaks, and before and after the work day, on the university's, academy's or community college's premises to discuss workplace issues, collective bargaining negotiations, the administration of collective bargaining agreements and other matters related to the duties of a bargaining agent and internal bargaining agent matters involving the governance or the business of the bargaining agent."

Unions will now have the right to use university, academy, and community college buildings to conduct union meetings regarding negotiations, grievances, other workplace-related complaints and internal union matters involving its governance or business. Union use of institutional property for meetings is conditioned on it not interfering with operations and that the union pay for the maintenance and security costs that would not otherwise be incurred by the university, academy or community college.

Unions will also have the right to meet with new employees without charge to their pay or leave time for at least 30 minutes. Such a meeting must take place no later than 10 calendar days after the union learns of the new employee from the employer.

The new law also grants unions the right to use an institution's e-mail system to communicate with bargaining unit members. The statute stipulates, however, that the use of the e-mail system must not create an unreasonable burden on the institution's network or system administration.

Higher education institutions are now mandated by the new law to provide a union with specific information about bargaining unit members. Within 30 calendar days after an employee is hired, a university, academy or community college must provide the union with the following information about the new bargaining unit member: name, job title, workplace location, home address, work telephone numbers, home and personal cell phone number (if known), work and personal email address (if known), and date of hire.

The recent amendments permit unit employees to opt out of receiving union communications following the initial meeting with the union after the employee is hired.
Lastly, the new law prohibits unions from selling or sharing information about an employee who is not a union member except when necessary to fulfill the union's collective bargaining responsibilities.
Florida Polytechnic University: Restatements Ordered Based on ULPs
Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees, FPERC Case Nos. CA-2018-029 and CA-2018-34

On July 24, 2019, the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (FPERC) issued an important decision upholding a hearing officer's conclusion that Florida Polytechnic University engaged in an unfair labor practice when it failed to provide United Faculty of Florida (UFF) with reasonable notice and an opportunity to engage in meaningful negotiations over the university's decision to abolish the wellness counselor and assistant librarian positions in the UFF-represented bargaining unit and by laying off the employees in those titles: Kate Bernard and Casey Fox.

FPERC also upheld the hearing officer's determination that the university engaged in an unfair labor practice by laying off Bernard and Fox in retaliation for their active participation on the UFF bargaining team. FPERC rejected the university's argument that the hearing officer erred in basing her decision, in part, on evidence of the university's anti-union stance toward unionization on campus including spending $60,000 to oppose the organizing effort, and the hostile anti-union environment created by administrators. FPERC noted that the hearing officer's conclusions were supported by direct admissions made during the testimony of Provost Terry Parker.

FPERC also upheld the hearing officer's conclusion that Florida Polytechnic University engaged in a separate unfair labor practice when it refused to renew the teaching contract of Professor Christina Drake in retaliation for her protected union activity.

The Commission reasoned:

"The findings that [University President Randy] Avent and [Provost] Parker were personally involved in the University's opposition to the UFF organizing drive in 2016 supports the inference that Avent and Parker would have known that Drake was engaged in protected activity, spearheading the union campaign, and supports the inference that Avent and Parker would have been personally involved in the labor-management conflicts that culminated in 2018. Moreover, these findings helped the hearing officer to make credibility determinations because of the inconsistent testimony of Avent and Parker." The evidence presented during the hearing established that neither Avent or Parker had any experience as managers or administrators in a unionized setting.

FPERC ordered the university to reinstate Bernard and Fox to their former positions with back wages, benefits,and interest, and to rescind Drake's 2018 non-renewal letter. The university has also been ordered to pay UFF for its reasonable attorney's fees and costs.

Lastly, the agency ordered the university to cease and desist from: 1) unilaterally eliminating bargaining unit positions without granting UFF advance notice and an opportunity to bargaining the impact of the decision; 2) discouraging union membership by non-renewing faculty contracts or otherwise terminating employees in retaliation for protected activity; and 3) interfering, restraining, and coercing employeees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed by Florida's public sector collective bargaining law.
City Colleges of Chicago: ULP for R efusing to Pay Back Pay Dismissed
City Colleges of Chicago, District 508, IELRB Case No. 2015-CA-0101-C

On June 20, 2019, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) issued a decision affirming the dismissal of a charge filed by the Cook County College Teachers Union, Local 1600, IFT-AFT, AFL-CIO alleging that the City Colleges of Chicago engaged in an improper practice by failing to comply with a back pay provision in an arbitration award and decision sustaining the union's grievance.

The grievance challenged the college's treatment of college advisors as exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). During the hearing, the arbitrator represented to the college that the union was seeking only a cease and desist order, without a back pay award for the college advisors. Based on that representation, the college did not present any evidence on the question of back pay.

When the arbitrator issued his decision and award sustaining the grievance, he ordered the college to restore the college advisors to FLSA non-exempt status and to pay them the overtime compensation they would have received if the college had not violated the collective bargaining agreement. The college complied with the award by restoring the employees to FLSA non-exempt status but it refused to comply with the back pay portion of the award

In affirming the dismissal of the charge, IELRB concluded that the college had not engaged in an unfair labor practice when it failed to completely comply with the arbitration award because it was not fair for the arbitrator to have awarded back pay after telling the college that that issue was not before him.
Barnard College: Arbitrator Orders Professor Included in Bargaining Unit
On July 17, 2019, Arbitrator Bonnie Siber Weinstock issued a decision and award sustaining a grievance pursued by Barnard Contingent Faculty, UAW, Local 2110 challenging the decision by Barnard College to exclude Term Associate Professor Cecelia Lie-Spahn from the bargaining unit.

Professor Lie-Spahn has held the title of Term Associate Professor in Barnard's English Department since July 1, 2016, and received her latest appointment letter to that position in August, 2018. Professor Lie-Span teaches four classes a year, and is relieved of teaching a fifth class due to her administrative responsibilities leading Barnard's First-Year Writing Workshop.

Although the title of Term Associate Professor is specifically listed in the recognition clause of the Barnard-UAW contract, the college argued that Professor Lie-Spahn's duties in her functional titles of Director of the First Year Writing Workshop and Associate Director of the First-Year Writing Program made her a supervisor excluded from the bargaining unit.

Following a review of the evidence presented, Arbitrator Weinstock sustained the grievance concluding that Barnard College must treat Professor Lie-Spahn as a member of the bargaining unit as long as she holds the position and performs the duties of Term Associate Professor.

Arbitrator Weinstock found that Professor Lie-Spahn's duties in the Writing Workshop are not supervisory under the standards of the National Labor Relations Act. In reaching that conclusion, Arbitrator Weinstock found that Professor Lie-Spahn's responsibilities concerning workshop hiring and classes were ministerial and clerical in nature, and that she functions as a "lead" toward other colleagues rather than as a supervisor
Waukesha County Technical College: NEA Wisconsin Affiliate Recertified
Waukesha County Technical College , Wisconsin ERC Case ID: 420.0004

On June 3, 2019, Waukesha County Technical Educators Association, WEAC Region 7 was recertified by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission as the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit of 255 full-time and associate instructors and full-time and part-time non-teaching professional employees at the Waukesha County Technical College. The rectification took place following an election in which the employees voted 160-18 in favor of continued union representation.

The following is the at-issue bargaining unit at Waukesha County Technical College:

Included: all full-time and regular part-time non-teaching professional employees and all full-time and associate instructors

Excluded: Adjunct instructors, supervisors, confidential, managerial, and executive employees
Mass. Bd. of Higher Ed: Petition to Accrete Positions Dismissed
Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, CERB Case No. CAS-17-6266

On June 27, 2019, the Massachusetts Commonwealth Employment Relations Board (CERB) issued a decision dismissing a petition, as amended, by the Association of Professional Administrators, MTA/NEA seeking to accrete to its bargaining unit administrator positions at Framingham State and one administrator position at Fitchberg State.

The positions sought in the amended petition were: Executive Assistant to the Executive Vice President of Administration, Finance and Technology, Executive Director, Development and Alumni Relation, and Executive Assistant to the Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs at Framingham State; and Executive Director for Marketing and Integrated Communications at Fitchburg State.

CERB denied the petition, finding that the parties had entered into prior agreements that demonstrated an intent to exclude the at-issue administrator positions at Framingham State, and concluding that the incumbent employed in the position of Executive Director for Marketing and Integrated Communications at Fitchburg State performed managerial duties and responsibilities and therefore had to be excluded from the bargaining unit.
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: USW Files to Represent Library Staff
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, NLRB Case No. 06-RC-245112

On July 18, 2019, USW filed a petition with the NLRB seeking to represent a bargaining unit of approximately 323 librarians and staff at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

The following is the petitioned-for bargaining Unit at the Carnegie Library:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time library services, support staff, and professional employees at the Employer's 19 public branches, the Library Support Center, and the substitute pool, including all pages, stock handlers, clerks, senior clerks, library assistants, specialists (children, clerical, school outreach, community and engagement, and technology support), librarians, senior librarians, technicians, development assistants and associates, database administrators, systems administrators, web developers, designers, service integration leads, and civic data and digitization lead librarians.

Excluded: All temporary employees, guards, shipping drivers, custodial staff, confidential administrative clerical employees, department managers, library service managers, coordinators, unit heads, library service administrators, directors, and supervisors as defined the Act, including supervisory lead librarians, clerical supervisors, customer and account services supervisors, and shelving and materials services supervisors.
Occidental College: SEIU Withdraws Petition for Administrative Staff
Occidental College, NLRB Case No. 31-RC-244123

On June 28, 2019, SEIU filed a petition to represent 30 administrative employees at Occidental College. The petition followed SEIU's successful organizing effort to represent non-tenure track faculty at the college.

On July 10, 2019, however, SEIU's request to withdraw the petition to represent the administrative staff was granted by the NLRB Region 31 Director.

The following is a description of the unit sought in SEIU's petition:

Included: Administrative Assistant, Executive Assistant, Faculty Services Assistant, Receptionist, Librarian, Program Coordinator, Senior Program Coordinator, Department Coordinator, Art Studio Manager, Machinist, Digitization Specialist.

Excluded: All other employees, guards, and supervisors as defined by Section 2(11) of the Act.
New Represented Workers at Museums and in the Performing Arts
The New York Times recently reported on the upswing in union organizing efforts by workers in museums and other performing arts institutions. Unionized museum and performing arts staff are not a new phenomenon but the current wave has similarities to recent unionizing efforts among faculty, graduate students, and journalists over the past few years.

As journalist Steven Greenhouse observed last year with respect to journalists, the reasons for unionizing has not changed over the decades: job security, higher wages, and a collective voice at work.

Below are details concerning some of the new organizing efforts among museum and performing arts workers around the country.

Museums


The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation , NLRB Case No. 02-RC-242723

On July 5, 2019, IUOE Operating Engineers, Local 30 was certified by the NLRB to represent a unit of approximately 141 full-time, regular part-time, and per diem and casual hours employees at the Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The museum is located in the iconic building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The certification of IUOE Operating Engineers, Local 30 followed an election in which the museum workers voted 57 in favor of representation and 20 against.

The following is the new certified collective bargaining unit at the Guggenheim Museum:

Included: All full-time, regular part-time, and Per Diem and Casual Hour/On-call employees employed by the Employer at its facilities located at 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY and The Technical Services Building, in the classifications of Watch Engineer, Maintenance Mechanic, Art Handler, Changeover Temp and Per Diem Installer, Changeover Temp-Lighting, Lighting Temp, Exhibition Constrution Worker, Multi-Media Tech, Preparator, Senior Preparator, Fabricator, Chief Cabinetmaker, Changeover Temp-Fabrication Cabinetmaker, Chief Framemaker, Facilities Construction Mechanic, House Electrician, and Technical Specialist, Finishes.

Excluded: All other employees of the Employer, including but not limited to all office clerical employees, guards, and professional employees and supervisors under the Act.

 
Lower East Side Tenement Museum , NLRB Case No. 02-RC-238582

On May 1, 2019, the UAW was certified by the NLRB to represent a unit of approximately 82 full-time and part-time employees at the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The certification was issued following an election in which the museum workers voted 73 in favor of representation and 3 against.

The following is the new bargaining unit at the Tenement Museum:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time employees in the Education, Visitors Services, and Retail Departments employed by the Employer at its facilities located at 91, 97, and 103 Orchard Street, New York, New York.

Excluded: All other employees, including special events employees, book buyers, senior book buyers, receiving associates, admissions manager, receiving and billing managers, educational administrative coordinators, senior associate program coordinators, educational managers (Exhibit and Coordination) and guards, and supervisors as defined by the Act.


New Museum of Contemporary Art, NLRB Case No. 02-RC-233642

On February 1, 2019, the UAW was certified by the NLRB to represent a unit of approximately 53 full-time and part-time employees at the New Museum of Contemporary Art on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.. The certification was issued following an election in which the museum workers voted 38 in favor of representation and 8 against.

The following is the new bargaining unit at the New Museum of Contemporary Art:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time employees* employed by the Employer at its facility located at 231 and 235 Bowery, New York, NY.

Excluded: All other employees, including maintenance department employees, confidential employees, temporary employees, and guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. *Part-time employees eligible to vote are those employees who have worked an average of 4 or more hours per week in the 13 weeks prior to the payroll eligibility date. Intermittent employees eligible to vote are those employed by the Employer during two installations for a total of five working days over a 1-year period or for at least 15 days over a 2-year period.


Charles and Emma Frye Free Public Art Museum , NLRB Case No. 19-RC-242477

On June 26, 2018, the Art Workers Union was certified by the NLRB to represent a unit of 13 full-time and part-time security guards employed by the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, Washington. The certification was issued following a representation election in which unit members voted 6-0 in favor of representation.

The following is the new bargaining unit at the Frye Art Museum:

All full-time and regular part-time employees employed as security guards by the Employer at the Frye Museum in Seattle, Washington; excluding all managers, and supervisors as defined by the Act, and all non-guard employees.

Performing Arts

Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish

The Yiddler Company, LLC, d/b/a The Fiddish Company , NLRB Case No. 02-RC-24350
 
On July 19, 2019, IATSE Local 764 was certified to represent wardrobe personnel working on the show Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish. The certification was not based on the short stories of Sholem Aleichem about Tevye the Dairyman. Rather, it was the consequence of a representation election conducted by the NLRB in which the play's wardrobe personnel voted to unionize.

The following is the at-issue bargaining unit:
 
Included: All wardrobe personnel working on the show "Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish" in New York, NY, including dressers, seamstresses, tailors, stitchers, laundry workers, pressers, day workers, those engaged in stocking and restocking costumers, stylists, beaders, dyers, craft workers including all wardrobe personnel performing work in conjunction or connection with shows and all wardrobe personnel who perform the duties commonly performed by a wardrobe employees in the professional theatre, including, but not limited to attending rehearsal and/or fittings when required, being present for pre-sets as required, preparing the cast's costumes and shoes for performances, dressing of performers, performing costume changes, hair and wig maintenance, and maintaining the costume design as required.

Excluded: All other employees, guards and professional employees, and supervisors as defined by the National Labor Relations Act.

The Old Globe

Old Globe Theatres, D/B/A The Old Globe , NLRB Case No. 21-RC-218541

On May 9, 2018 , IATSE Local 122 was certified by the NLRB to represent a bargaining unit of 53 full-time, regular part-time and casual stagehands and stage technicians working at the Globe Theatre in San Diego. The certification followed a vote by the theatre employees in a representation election, in which they voted 27-21 in favor of unionization. The following is the at-issue bargaining unit:

Included: All full-time, regular part-time and casual stagehands and stage technicians, including all wardrobe, costume, hair and makeup, and shop employees employed by the Employer at its facilities currently located at 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego, California and 5335 Market Street, San Diego, California.

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

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Brooklyn Academy of Music , NLRB Case No. 29-RC-239182

On June 25, 2019, the UAW was certified by the NLRB to represent a bargaining unit of 171 employees of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) , a multi-arts center in Brooklyn. The certification resulted from a representation election in which the BAM workers voted 119-26 in favor of unionization. The unit description is not available at this time.

San Francisco Jazz Organization

San Francisco Jazz Organization , NLRB Case No. 20-RC-239791

The Theatrical Employees Union, Local B18 was certified on June 10, 2019 by the NLRB as the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit of 24 full-time and part-time employees at the San Francisco Jazz Organization. As Betty Carter and Esperanza Spalding have taught, jazz ain't nothing but soul.

The certification followed a representation election in which the workers voted 12-2 in favor of representation.

The following is the at-issue bargaining unit at the San Francisco Jazz Organization:
 
All regular full-time and part-time front of the house employees including box office employees and ushers, excluding all other employees including clerical personnel, managerial employees, all other professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined the Act.

Old Town School of Folk Music

Old Town School of Folk Music, Inc., NLRB Case No. 13-RC-232382

On January 16, 2019, the Illinois Federation of Teachers was certified by the NLRB to represent a unit of 250 instructors at the Old School of Folk Music in Chicago. The certification followed an election in which the instructors voted 141-7 in favor of union representation. It is likely that the instructors sang one or more songs by the Almanac Singers during their organizing campaign.

The following is the new bargaining unit at Old Town School of Folk Music:

Included: All instructors, including Instructors and Wiggleworms-in-Residence Teaching Artists, employed by the Employer at its facilities currently located at 4544 and 4545 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60625 and 909 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60614 and in the following Employer programs located away from the Employer's facilities: Wiggleworms Branches, Artist In Residence, Fee for Service CPS & More, Wiggleworms In Residence, and Arts & Wellness/Music Moves Chicago.

Excluded: Program managers, non-instructor substitutes, managerial employees, confidential employees, guards and supervisors as defined by the Act, and all other
employees.

Lehigh University

Lehigh University, NLRB Case Case Number 04-RC-244115

On July 24, 2019, NLRB Region 4 tallied ballots in a case filed by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 200 to represent 8 stagehands employed at Lehigh University's Zoellner Arts Center. The tally demonstrated that the stagehands voted 7-0 in favor of union representation.

The following is the at-issue bargaining unit at Lehigh University:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time stagehands employed by the Employer at the Zoellner Arts Center located at 420 E. Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA.

Excluded: All other employees, clerical employees, temporary workers, work study students, ticket takers managers, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.

Porchlight Music Theatre

Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago, NLRB Case No. 13-RC-242259

On July 1, 2019, NLRB Region 13 issued a notice of a mail ballot election among employees at the Porchlight Music Theatre in Chicago concerning a representation petition filed by the Chicago Federation of Musicians, Local 10-208, AFM to represent the musicians employed at the theatre. The election was ordered following a decision
by the NLRB Region Director rejecting the theatre's argument that the musicians were independent contractors, rather than employees, under the National Labor Relations Act.

The following is the at-issue bargaining unit at the Porchlight Music Theatre:

Included: All musicians employed and paid by Employer to play a musical instrument at a
performance produced by the Employer during two productions for a total of 5 working days over a 1-year period, or who have been employed by the Employer for at least 15 days over a 2-year period immediately preceding May 31, 2019.

Excluded: Those not eligible to vote are: Executive Director, Artistic Director, Audience Services Manager, Development Director, Institutional Advancement Director, Development Associate, Finance Manager, Finance Associate, Education Associate, Marketing Manager, House Manager, box office employees, ushers, Company & Casting
Manager, Production Manager, Dramaturg, interns, Stage Manager, stage crew, designers, costume and wardrobe employees, lighting employees, electrical employees, props employees, sound employees, Director, Choreographer, non-instrumental stage performers, office clerical employees, managerial employees, and professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.
New Represented Workers at Legal Services Organizations
In the past three months, there have been NLRB certifications of unions to represent professional and non-professional employees at legal services organizations in Michigan, New York, and California. The following are the vote counts and unit descriptions concerning the new bargaining units.

Lakeshore Legal Aid, NLRB Case No. 07-RC-242887

The National Organization of Legal Services Workers UAW 2320 AFL-CIO was certified by the NLRB on July 26, 2019 to represent a unit of 74 full-time staff attorneys employed by Lakeshore Legal Aid in five Michigan counties. The certification followed an representation election in which the lawyers voted 41-20 in favor of unionization.

The following is the new bargaining unit at Lakeshore Legal Aid:

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.

New York Legal Assistance Group , NLRB Case No. 02-RC-243013

On July 5, 2019, the UAW was certified by the NLRB to represent attorneys and non-professional employees working for the New York Legal Assistance in New York. The certification resulted from an election in which the attorneys and non-professional employees voted 152-29 in favor of representation.

The following were the voting units in the representation election:

Voting Unit (Unit A):

Included: Full-time and regular part-time Coordinating Attorney, Senior Staff Attorney, and Staff Attorney.

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.

Voting Unit (Unit B):

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.

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.

Public Counsel , NLRB Case No 31-RC-240383

On May 30, 2019, AFSCME was certified by the NLRB to represent a unit of 94 attorneys, other professionals, and non-professionals at the organization Public Counsel in Los Angeles. The certification followed an election in which the employees voted 47-39 in favor of union representation.

The following were the voting units in the representation election:

Voting Unit (Unit A):

Included: All non-supervisory Attorneys, Paralegals, and Social Workers employed by the Employer located at 610 South Ardmore Avenue Los Angeles, California 90005.

Excluded: All other employees, including all non-professional employees, managerial employees, supervisors, temporary employees, and confidential employees as defined in the Act, as amended.

Voting Unit (Unit B)

Included: All non-professional employees employed by the Employer located at 610 South Ardmore Avenue Los Angeles, California 90005, including finance staff accountants, finance associates, IT Computer Systems Administrator, Facilities/IT Support Technician, Coordinators, Specialists, Program Assistants, Database Processors, Organizers, Researchers, Receptionists, Administrative Assistants, and Project Assistants.

Excluded: All other employees, including executive assistants, directors, professional employees included in Unit A, managerial employees, supervisors, temporary employees, and confidential employees, as defined in the Act, as amended.

Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, NLRB Case No. 02-RC-239425

On May 13, 2019, the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, Local 2325, UAW, AFL-CIO was certified by the NLRB to represent a unit of 74 professional and non-professional employees working for the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. The certification was issued following an election in which 56 employees voted in favor of representation and 15 voted against.

The following were the voting units in the representation election:

Voting Unit (Unit A):

Included: All full-time and regular part-time professional employees including Attorneys, Law Grads, Paid Fellows, and Social Workers employed by Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem at or out of 317 Lenox Ave, New York, NY 10027.

Excluded: All other employees including Executive Directors, Managing Directors, Managing Attorneys, General Counsels, Supervising Attorneys, Supervising Social Workers, Human Resources Managers, Chief Operating Officers, Controllers, Executive Assistants, managers, and non-professional employees as set forth below in Unit B, and guards and supervisors as defined by the Act, Neighboorhood Defenders Services of Harlem, the Employer herein, a New York State not-for-profit corporation with an office and place of business located at 50 Broadway, Suite 150, New York, New York, the sole facility involved herein, provides legal services to members of the public. Annually, in the course and conduct of its business operations, the Employer derives gross revenue in excess of $250,000, and purchases and receives at its New York facility goods and supplies valued in excess of $5,000 directly from suppliers located outside the State of New York.

Voting Unit (Unit B):

Included: All full-time and regular part-time non-professional employees including Paralegals, Team Administrators, Assistant Controllers, Facilities Managers, Investigators, Messengers/Office Aides, Receptionists, Legal Advocates, Parent Advocates, Community Intake Advocates, Client Advocates, and Communications Specialists employed by Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem at or out of 317 Lenox Ave, New York, NY 10027.

Excluded: All other employees, including all professional employees as set forth in Unit A above, managers, and guards, and supervisors as defined by the Act.
2019 Revision of NY Public Sector Labor Law Treatise Now Available
For over three decades, the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) has published a treatise, now known as Lefkowitz on Public Sector Labor and Employment Law, 4th Edition. The two-volume treatise is co-edited by National Center Executive Director Bill Herbert, Arbitrator Philip L. Maier, and attorney Richard K. Zuckerman.

Earlier this month, NYSBA published the 2019 revisions to the treatise, which includes statutory and case law updates.

The treatise is a leading reference for advocates, arbitrators, and judges on New York public sector labor and employment law in New York. The book includes chapters on the Taylor Law (including representation procedures, collective bargaining, and improper practices) as well as other laws and regulations applicable to public sector labor relations. The treatise can inform labor relations representatives in public sector higher education in New York, and help to fill the void of knowledge during discussions and debates over rights and responsibilities under New York's Taylor Law.
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
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