NATIONAL CENTER
for the S tudy of C ollective B argaining in 
H igher E ducation and the P rofessions
E-Note
  
 
   
 
Follow us on Twitter @HigherEd_CB
January 2017
The National Center E-Note is a monthly electronic newsletter containing research and analysis relevant to unionization and collective bargaining in higher education and the professions.
  

2.     Register Now for the National Center's 2017 Annual Conference

 
Dr. Martin Luther King on the Purpose of Education
On January 16, 2017, our nation will be celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as part of the federal holiday connected with Dr. King's birthday.

In conjunction with the celebration of Dr. King we share a quote from his 1947 article, The Purpose of Education, written while he was an undergraduate at Morehouse College:

Education must also train one for quick, resolute and effective thinking. To think incisively and to think for one's self is very difficult. We are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of half truths, prejudices, and propaganda. At this point, I often wonder whether or not education is fulfilling its purpose. A great majority of the so-called educated people do not think logically and scientifically. Even the press, the classroom, the platform, and the pulpit in many instances do not give us objective and unbiased truths. To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.
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 Register Now for National Center's 2017 Annual Conference 
National Center Conference: March 26-28, 2017
Creating Solutions in Challenging Times
   
Registration for the National Center's  44th Annual Conference at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City is available online or by mail


Early conference registration and hotel reservations are strongly encouraged.A2  
 
The 2017 conference is underwritten with a grant from  TIAA.
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Pre-Register for Interactive Training Workshops
Pre-registration by conference attendees is required to participate in the interactive workshop trainings.  The workshops will be held on Sunday March 26, 2017 from 1:30 p.m.-5:45 p.m at the CUNY Graduate Center.

The deadline for pre-registration is March 3, 2017

Pre-register here for Workshop Training on Unionization and Collective Bargaining for Administrators with Nicholas DiGiovanni, Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP, Karen   Stubaus, Vice President, Academic Affairs & Administration, Rutgers University, and Margaret E. Winters, Wayne State University.  This session is restricted to university and college administrators only and the session is closed to the media.
 
Pre-register here for Workshop Training on Unionization and Collective Bargaining for Academic Labor with David Cecil, United Academics, AFT-AAUP Executive Director, University of Oregon, Deborah Williams, NEA Faculty Association President and Lead Negotiator, Johnson County Community College, Larry Alcoff, SEIU, and moderator and facilitator, Phadra Williams, NEA. This session is restricted to academic labor and labor representatives and the session is closed to media.

Pre-register here for Workshop Training on Financial Data Analysis with Howard Bunsis, Chair, AAUP Collective Bargaining Congress, Professor, Accounting, Eastern Michigan University, Bradley Wells, California State University Associate Vice Chancellor for Business & Finance, and moderator Jeffery Frumkin, Associate Vice Provost and Senior Director, Academic Human Resources, University of Michigan.

Pre-register here for Workshop Training on Interest Based Bargaining in Higher Education with Shelly Chabon, Vice Provost Academic Personnel and Leadership Development, Portland State University, Janet Gillman, State Conciliator, Oregon Employment Relations Board Conciliation Services, Pam Miller, Immediate Past President PSU-AAUP, Leanne Serbulo, Former Vice President Collective Bargaining and Current Bargaining Team Member, PSU-AAUP and Phil Lesch, Executive Director, PSU-AAUP, and moderator Liesl K. Zwicklbauer, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Employee Relations, State University of New York. 
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Collective Bargaining and Unionization at Private Sector Institutions
At the 2017 conference, there will be speakers and panels examining issues related to unionization and collective bargaining at private colleges and universities.

Keynote Speaker: Mark G. Pearce
The conference keynote speaker will be NLRB Chairman Mark G. Pearce. Mr. Pearce was named NLRB Chairman by President Barack Obama on August 27, 2011. Mr. Pearce was sworn in as a Board Member on April 07, 2010, following his recess appointment, and was confirmed by the Senate on June 22, 2010. On August 23, 2013 he was sworn in for a second term that expires on August 27, 2018. 

Chairman Pearce was a founding partner of the Buffalo, New York law firm of Creighton, Pearce, Johnsen & Giroux, where he practiced union and plaintiff side labor and employment law in courts and before administrative agencies.



Student Employee Unionization under the National Labor Relations Act

The 2017 conference will include a panel examining unionization and collective bargaining of student employees following the NLRB's Columbia University decision in 2016.  The 
panel will include: Joseph W. Ambash, Fisher & Phillips, LLP; Daniel Julius, Senior Vice-President and Provost, New Jersey City University; Julie Kushner, UAW Region 9A Director; and Wilma Liebman, Visiting Scholar, Rutgers University and former NLRB Chairman.  Melissa Korn, reporter, Wall Street Journal will be moderating the panel.  

NLRB 101: A Prima on National Labor Relations Board Procedures 
The conference will include a panel focused on NLRB procedures with Karen P. Fernbach, NLRB, Regional Director, Region 2, Kathy Drew King, NLRB Region Director, Region 29, John Walsh, NLRB Regional Director, Region 1,  and moderator James O. Castagnera, Associate Provost and Legal Counsel for Academic Affairs, Rider University.  This panel will help administrators and academic labor at private institutions understand NLRB procedures concerning representation and unfair labor practice cases. N5       
Conference Panels Focused on Community College Issues
The National Center has put together a number of 2017 conference panels that will focus on community college issues:

Addressing Contemporary Community College Labor-Management Issues with Sergio Guzman, President, Rio Hondo College Faculty Association/CCA/CTA/NEA, Teresa Dreyfuss, Superintendent/President, Rio Hondo College, Mary Ann Pacheco, President, Rio Hondo College Board of Trustees, Lynette Nyaggah, President, Community College Association/CTA/NEA, and moderator Kevin Drumm, President, Broome Community College.

Creative Partnering with Community Colleges with Pamela Hampton Garland, UDC and Guilford Technical Community College, Tim Haresign, Executive Director,  New Jersey Council of State College Locals, Sean Tvelia, Exec. V.P., Faculty Association, Suffolk County Community College, Paul Beaudin, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Suffolk County Community College, and panelist and moderator Robert Zazzali, Senior Vice President for Community Affairs and Economic Development, Rowan University.

Professional Development for Adjunct and Tenure-Track Faculty   with Gail Mellow, President, LaGuardia Community College, CUNY and author of T aking College Teaching Seriously, Pedagogy Matters!: Fostering Student Success Through Faculty-Centered Practice Improvement , commentators Gary Rhoades, Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona, and Barbara Madeloni, Massachusetts Teachers Association President, and moderator Malini Cadambi-Daniel, SEIU.N6
Conference Panels on Higher Education Financing and Funding
The following are 2017 conference panels that will examine financial and funding issues in higher education:

The Role of Endowments in Financing Higher Education with Peter M. Rup, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, Artemis Wealth Advisors, LLC, Kenneth Redd, Director, Research and Policy Analysis, NACUBO, Elizabeth Parisian, Assistant Director, Research and Strategic Initiatives, AFT, and moderator Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, Reporter, The Washington Post.

The Capital Markets and Higher Education with Susan Fitzgerald, Associate Managing Director, Moody's Investors Service, Charlie Eaton, Postdoctoral Scholar, Stanford Graduate School of Education, Tim Coffin, Senior Vice President, Breckinridge Capital Advisors, and moderator Jake Apakarian, Assistant Professor, York College.
  
The Economics and Effect of College Sports on Campus
 with Chancellor Richard L. Edwards, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Gilbert M. Gaul, author of Billion-Dollar Ball, Saranna Thornton, Professor of Economics, Hampden-Sydney College, and moderator Michael Powell, NY Times reporter.


Federal and State Funding: Shifting Patterns and Changing Strategies with Quinton T. Ross, Alabama State Senator, Leo Welch, Legislative Officer, AAUP Illinois Conference, Michael Fabricant, PSC Vice President and co-author of Austerity Blues: Fighting for the Soul of Public Higher Education, Kara Perkins, Executive Budget Director, Budget Office, CSU Office of the Chancellor, and moderator Frederick Floss, Professor and Chair, Department of Economics and Finance, SUNY Buffalo State and Fiscal Policy Institute Senior Fellow.  

The Economics and Effect of College Sports on Campus with Chancellor Richard L. Edwards, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Gilbert M. Gaul, author of Billion-Dollar Ball, Saranna Thornton, Professor of Economics, Hampden-Sydney College, and moderator Michael Powell, NY Times reporter.

Student Debt: We Pay for What We Value with George A. Davison, Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of B.C. and National Union of the Canadian Association of University Teachers President, Stephen Katsinas, Director and Professor, University of Alabama Education Policy Center, Daniel Forster, Vice President of Enrollment Management, Washington College, and moderator Martha J. Kanter, Executive Director, Civic Nation.N7  
University of Hartford: SEIU Certified to Represent Adjunct Unit
University of Hartford, NLRB Case No. 01-RC-187989

On January 3, 2017, SEIU was certified by the NLRB as the exclusive representative to represent the following faculty bargaining unit at the University of Hartford:

Included: All part-time faculty employed by the University including Adjuncts, Part-time Community Division faculty, and G3 Contract employees.

Excluded: All full-time faculty and all other University employees.

The certification followed a mail ballot election, with the tally taking place on December 23, 2016.  The tally of ballots showed that of the 876 faculty members in the bargaining unit, 278 voted in favor of SEIU representation, 230 voted against, and an additional 23 ballots were challenged. N8
USC: NLRB Rejects Claim that Adjunct Faculty are Managerial
University of Southern California , 365 NLRB No. 11 (2016)

On December 30, 2016, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision denying a request for review by the University of Southern California concerning a case where SEIU was certified to represent a unit of non-tenure track faculty at the university's Roski School of Art and Design.  The university was unsuccessful in its effort to overturn the finding reached by the NLRB Region 31 Director that the contingent faculty at the Roski School are not managerial based on the application of the standards set forth in Pacific Lutheran University, 361 NLRB No. 157 (2014).

In denying the university's request for review, the NLRB majority reiterated that the nature of faculty's employment relationship with an institution is relevant in determining managerial status.  It also affirmed the Regional Director's focus on the specific role that the at-issue contingent faculty members play in university committees in concluding that the they did not "actually exercise control or make effective recommendations" concerning the specific areas of university decision-making.

In related news, SEIU withdrew on January 3, 2017 a separate representation petition that had sought to represent a bargaining unit of 337 full-time and part-time non-tenure track faculty employed at the University of Southern California Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. In that case, the NLRB had set aside an election based on a finding that the university had engaged in improper electoral conduct that adversely interfered with laboratory conditions. N9
Marist College: Report Issued on Election Challenges
Marist College, NLRB Case No. 03-RC-127374

On January 3, 2017, NLRB Region 3 Hearing Officer Neale K. Sutcliff issued a report and recommendations concerning challenged ballots in a rerun mail ballot conducted with respect to a petition filed by SEIU seeking to represent adjunct faculty at Marist College.  The tally of ballots on October 31, 2016 found that 167 faculty members voted for representation, and 177 against.  There were, however, a total of 62 ballots challenged. 

During and following the hearing, the parties were able to resolve certain of the challenges, resulting  in the hearing officer recommending that 8 challenged ballots be opened and counted.  The hearing officer also recommended that an additional 6 challenged ballots be opened and counted following a review of the evidence presented at the hearing.  Unless the report and recommendations are overturned, the counting of the 14 additional ballots might lead to a different electoral result. N10
Southern Illinois University: NEA Certified to Represent FT Faculty
Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, IELRB Case No. 2017-RC-003-C

On December 6, 2016, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board certified NEA-IEA as the exclusive representative of a unit of approximately 373 tenured and tenure-track faculty at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville.  Adjunct faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and faculty employed on temporary contracts are excluded from the bargaining unit.  The certification was issued based on a showing of interest in the form of 204 signed and dated authorization cards.

The following is a description of the newly certified faculty unit:

Included:  All faculty at the ranks of assistant professor, associate professor and professor holding a tenure or tenure-track academic faculty appointment of .5 or greater employed through the Edwardsville campus.

Excluded:  All employees who hold visiting, clinical, adjunct, emeritus or less than .5 faculty appointments; employees who are employed on a temporary contract or whose positions are primarily funded from sources other than state appropriations (e.g. research professors; SIUE School of Pharmacy and School of Dental Medicine faculty; non-tenure tract faculty; deans; associate deans; assistant deans; all faculty employed through other campuses; and supervisory, managerial, confidential and short-term employees as defined in the IELRA, as amended. N11
 Santa Fe Community College: AAUP Files to Represent FT Faculty 
Santa Fe Community College, NMPELRB Case No. 311-6
 
On December 7, 2016, AAUP filed an amended representation petition with the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board seeking to represent a bargaining unit consisting of approximately 87 full-time employees at Santa Fe Community College classified as faculty with less than 50% direct supervisory duties, including faculty with titles Department Chair and Director.  Excluded from the proposed unit are all part-time faculty and all personnel classified as staff, including Directors without instructional duties, and all ranks above Department Chairs.

The petition might face a jurisdictional obstacle because the college appears to be subject to the jurisdiction of a local labor relations board rather than the state agency.  According to the AAUP representation petition, however, the local relations board was never constituted or functioned following the college's adoption of an ordnance creating the board. N12
Community College System of NH: Adjunct ULP Complaint Dismissed
Community College System of New Hampshire, NHPELRB Case No. G-0154-3
 
On December 15 2016, the New Hampshire Public Employee Labor Relations Board  issued a decision dismissing an unfair labor practice complaint filed by SEA/SEIU Local 1984 alleging that the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) violated its duty to bargain in good faith concerning compensation for adjunct faculty who provide tutoring services at CCSHN's Academic Center for Excellence (ACE).

In dismissing the complaint, the New Hampshire Public Employee Labor Relations Board concluded that tutoring was not an integral part of the adjunct faculty's bargaining unit work.  Relying on the terms of the first negotiated collective bargaining agreement, the agency concluded that unit work for adjunct faculty was limited to teaching a specifically assigned course and engaging in student "consultation before or after class, or by appointment."  It emphasized that "[t]here is no requirement (or expectation) that adjuncts provide tutoring services through ACE."   N13
Update on Pending Graduate Assistant Representation Cases
The following are brief updates of pending representation cases involving graduate and undergraduate assistants at private institutions.

Loyola University Chicago, NLRB Case No. 13-RC-189548

On January 9, 2017, a notice of election was issued concerning the representation petition filed by SEIU seeking to represent a unit of graduate assistants at Loyola University Chicago.  The following is the at-issue bargaining unit:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time Graduate Assistants consisting of PhD and Masters Students who serve as Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, Program Assistants, and Fellowship Teachers in the Graduate School and matriculating in degree programs in the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago's Lakeshore and Water Tower campuses.

Excluded: All full-time and regular part-time Graduate Assistants in the Theology Department, all other employees, guards, professional employees and supervisors as defined by the Act.
 
The New School, NLRB Case No. 02-RC-143009

On December 23, 2016, the NLRB Board issued a decision remanding the representation case filed by the UAW that seeks to represent a unit of graduate and undergraduate assistants at the New School.  In remanding the case, the NLRB majority rejected the institution's argument that the NLRB Region 2 Director should reexamine the showing of interest filed with the petition prior to conduct a representation election.

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

Columbia University has objections pending to the election that resulted in a 1602-623 vote in favor of UAW representation by graduate and undergraduate assistants at that institution.  An NLRB hearing on the university's objections is scheduled to commence on January 17, 2017.  A ruling on the objections can lead to the scheduling of a new election or the certification of the UAW as the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit.

The university's original objections included allegations that: a) union agents were located less than 100 feet from a polling place and engaged in conversations with eligible voters immediately prior to voting; b) union supporters engaged in surveillance and created the impression of surveillance while eligible voters entered and left the site of a polling place; c) the decision by the NLRB Region to change the necessary identification to be presented by a voter "improperly allowed ineligible voters to vote and forced potentially eligible voters to vote under challenge"; and d) an NLRB Board agent closed the door to one polling place "may have contributed to eligible voters not voting and destroyed the laboratory conditions necessary for a free and fair representation election."

On January 4, 2017, Columbia University faculty members submitted a letter to President
Lee Bollinger and Provost John Coatsworth urging the university to withdraw its objections. In their letter, the faculty members stated: 
 
"The issue now is not whether a union is a good or bad idea, but whether the university will respect the outcome of a democratic process. In the aftermath of the presidential election, President Bollinger issued a letter pledging fidelity to Columbia's core values. This is a moment when the university must make clear what its values actually are. It should drop its disingenuous objections and delaying tactics and move forward to constructive negotiations for a union contract."

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

The hearing concerning the SEIU petition seeking to represent graduate assistants at Duke University has been concluded, and the parties have filed post-hearing briefs.  On January 4, 2017, the NLRB Board issued a decision denying a request for review by SEIU to the Acting Regional Director's acceptance of an offer of proof from the university related to its argument that the at-issue graduate assistants are distinguishable from those at Columbia University. 

Yale University, NLRB Case Nos. 01-RC-183014, 01-RC-183043, 01-RC-183031, 01-RC-183016, 01-RC-183022, 01-RC-183039, 01-RC-183025, 01-RC-183038, 01-RC-183050, 01-RC-183036

The hearing has concluded concerning the representation petitions filed by UNITE-HERE seeking to represent graduate assistants at Yale University.  The next step will be a decision by the Region 1 Director regarding the legal and factual issues raised by the parties. One primary issue being litigated is whether the proposed departmental units are appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act. 

Harvard University, NLRB Case No. 01-RC-186442

The tally of ballots conducted last month by the NLRB found that the graduate assistants at Harvard University voted 1272-1456 against UAW representation with 314 additional ballots under challenge.  Both the UAW and the university have filed objections to the election, which remain pending before the NLRB Region 1 Director.

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n related news, the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions has modified its constitution to establish March 4 as Graduate Workers' Day, and to encourage "member unions to organize events and actions to promote the cause of the graduate union movement in North America."N14 
  University of Dayton: Petitions Filed to Represent Campus Security
University of Dayton, NLRB Case Nos 09-RC-190677 and 09-RC-190647

On December 30, 2016, the American Coalition of Public Safety (ACPS) filed two representation petitions seeking to represent units of security personnel at the University of Dayton. 

In one petition, ACPS seeks to be certified to represent a unit of approximately 17 employees in the following proposed unit:
 
Employees Included: All full-time and regular part-time corporals, patrol officers, and police officers employed by the Employer in the Department of Public Safety, Police Operations Employees Excluded: All office clerical employees, dispatchers, student cadets, and sergeants; all professional employees, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act; and all other employees.

The second ACPS petition seeks certification of the following proposed unit that would include approximately 3 employees: 

Employees included: All full-time and regular part-time sergeants employed by the Employer in the Department of Public Safety, Police Operations Employees Excluded: All office clerical employees, dispatchers, student cadets, corporals, patrol officers, and police officers; all professional employees, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act and all other employees. N15
Keene State Coll.: NEA Certified to Represent Directors and Supervisors
Keene State College, NHPELRB Case No. E-0191-1

On December 13, 2016, the New Hampshire Public Employee Labor Relations Board certified NEA to represent a unit of directors and supervisors at Keene State College.  The titles in the bargaining unit are set forth in the certification. N16
AFT Certified to Represent State Assistant Attorney Generals
State of Connecticut Office of Attorney General, CSBLR Case No. SE-32,388

On November 16, 2016, the AFT was certified by the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations to represent a bargaining unit composed of attorneys employed by the Connecticut Office of Attorney General.  The certification took place following an election in which the attorneys voted 101-64 in favor of unionization.

The following is the description of the at-issue union of state attorneys represented by AFT: all Assistant Attorneys General excluding Attorney General 4/Dept.
Heads, one Assistant Attorney General specializing in labor relations matters, one special counsel specializing in legislative affairs, Associate Attorneys General, the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General. N17 
USDOL Unemployment Insurance Program Letter Concerning Adjuncts
The United States Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration issued an Unemployment Insurance Program Letter on December 22, 2016 that is of importance for contingent faculty and institutions of higher learning.  The guidance letter sets forth the criteria to be followed and applied by state unemployment compensation agencies when examining unemployment compensation claims filed by adjunct faculty. N18
National Center Welcomes New Research Intern Natalia Grube
The National Center welcomes Natalia Grube as a research intern.  Ms. Grube is a graduate student at Hunter College, City University of New York, where she is studying biological anthropology. Ms. Grube aspires to pursue a PhD in anthropology with a focus in genetics.

During her academic career at Hunter College, Natalia has conducted research on primates in Uganda, and is a research assistant in an anthropological genetics lab studying primate genetics.  She is President of the Graduate Women in Science Club at Hunter College, a community dedicated to diversity and integration of minorities and women in STEM. As part of her internship at the National Center, she will be helping with the research regarding unionization and collective bargaining in higher education, and assisting with the National Center's annual conference.  N19
Now Available: 2016 Conference Webcasts and Podcasts
Below are links to webcasts and podcasts from the National Center's 43rd annual national conference, which took place on April 3-5, 2016.  We thank Hunter College's ICIT Department and Becca Pulliam from Please Repeat the Question Productions for their production assistance.

Webcasts
 
Martha Kanter, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Higher Education, Steinhardt Institute of Higher Education Policy NYU; David Bergeron, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; Lynette Nyaggah, Community College Association CTA-NEA President; and Stephen Katsinas, Director and Professor, University of Alabama Education Policy Center, Moderator.
 
LGBT Issues in Higher Education Labor Relations
Rosemary DiSavino, Senior Trial Attorney, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Sean Robinson, Morgan State University Associate Professor of Higher Education; Rachel V. See, National Labor Relations Board; Elizabethe C. Payne, Interim Director, LGBT Social Science and Public Policy Center, Roosevelt House, Visiting Associate Professor, Hunter College, CUNY and Director, The Queering Education Research Institute, Moderator. 
 
Negotiating Over Technology in Contracts and Curriculum: Copyright or Copyleft?
Gary Rhoades, Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona; Greg Saltzman, E. Maynard Aris Professor of Economics and Management, Albion College; Michael W. Klein, Executive Director, N.J. Association of State Colleges and Universities; and Richard Novak, Vice President for Continuing Studies and Distance Education, Rutgers University, Moderator.
 
Podcasts
 
Friedrichs v. CTA: What the Future May Bring
Cynthia Estlund, Catherine A. Rein Professor of Law, New York University School of Law; Charlotte Garden, Seattle University School of Law Associate Professor;  Ruben Garcia, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Professor of Law; and Frederick Schaffer, General Counsel and Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs, CUNY, Moderator
.
 
The History, State, and Future of Shared Governance
M. Brian Blake, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Drexel University; Larry G. Gerber, former chair of the American Association of University Professors' Committee on College and University Governance; Barbara Lee, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Rutgers University; and Scott Jaschik, editor, Inside Higher Ed, Moderator.  
 
America's Public Regional Universities: Collective Bargaining Matters
Stephen Katsinas, Director and Professor, University of Alabama Education Policy Center, Presenter ; Theodore Curry, Associate Provost, Associate Vice President, Academic Human Resources, Michigan State Univ., Commentator; Fred Floss, Fiscal Policy Institute Senior Fellow, Commentator; and Gail Brooks, Vice Chancellor, Human Resources Emerita, CSU, Interim Vive President Human Resources CSU, Fullerton, Moderator.
 
Higher Education Issues at Public Sector Labor Boards
Marjorie Wittner, Chair, Massachusetts Commonwealth Employment Relations Board; Adam Rhynard, Oregon Employment Relations Board member; John Winerius, NYS Public Employment Relations Board Deputy Chair; and Phillip L. Maier, Arbitrator and Mediator, Moderator.
 
Graduate Assistants, Unionization, and Negotiations
Michael Eagen, Director and Counsel, University of Connecticut Office of Faculty and Staff Labor Relations; Kenneth Lang, UAW Region 9A International Representative 
Raymond L. Haines, Associate Vice Chancellor for Employee Relations, State University of New York; and James Castagnera, Associate Provost/Legal Counsel for Academic Affairs, Rider University, Moderator.
 
Faculty as Mandatory Reporters under Title IX
Coleen Chin, Senior Attorney, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights; John T. Rose, Dean for Diversity, Hunter College, City University of New York; Yael Wepman, Director of EEO & Title IX Coordinator, St. John's University; and Jeffery Frumkin, Associate Vice Provost and Senior Director, Academic Human Resources, University of Michigan, Moderator
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Title IX, Academic Freedom and Due Process
Risa Lieberwitz, Professor, Labor and Employment Law, Cornell ILR, AAUP General Counsel; Rana Jaleel, UC Davis, Committee W; Suzanne B. Goldberg, Executive Vice President for University Life, Columbia University; and Peter Schmidt, Chronicle of Higher Education Senior Writer, Moderator.
 
The Impact of Faculty Unit Composition on Collective Bargaining
Robin Sowards, Organizer and Researcher, United Steelworkers, and Vice President, New Faculty Majority; Loretta Ragsdell, City Colleges of Chicago Contingent Labor Organizing Committee Vice President and Grievance Chair/IEA/NEA; James Burkel, Senior Academic Labor Relations Representative, University of Michigan; Kenneth Doxsee, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, University of Oregon; and Deborah Cooperstein, Adelphi University AAUP Chapter President, Moderator.N20   
The Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

Journal of CBA Logo  
   
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
The Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy (JCBA) is the National Center's peer review journal co-edited by Jeffrey Cross, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Eastern Illinois University, and Steve Hicks, Associate Professor of English, Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.  The most recent volume of JCBA is available here.
 
We encourage scholars, practitioners, and graduate students in the fields of collective bargaining, labor representation, labor relations, and labor history to submit articles for potential publication in future JCBA volumes.  N21 
Labor Historians Issue Statement in Support of Faculty Unionization
The Labor and Working Class History Association's Executive Committee on December 11, 2016 issued a statement strongly encouraging faculty in higher education to exercise their right to engage in collective bargaining.  The statement also encourages neutrality by colleges and universities when faculty are considering whether to unionize.  A similar resolution was issued by the Organization of American Historians in 2015.

In related news, a recently published book, Civic Labors: Scholarly Activism and Working-Class Studies, includes recent essays by faculty concerning union activism, and other forms of faculty civic engagement.  The editors of the volume were recently interviewed by Inside Higher Ed. N22
Labour Relations Conference for University and College Management
Our friends at the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association (AHEIA), University and College Employers Association (UCEA), and Faculty Bargaining Services (FBS) have announced that the 3rd International Academic Labour Relations Conference for University and College Management will be taking place on May 1-5, 2017 in Sydney, Australia.
National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions 
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