NATIONAL CENTER
for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions
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Follow Us on Twitter @HigherEd_CB for News from Around the Country
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The National Center's February 2021 newsletter includes registration information about our May annual conference along with a list of currently confirmed panels. The newsletter also has a link to our November 2020 study about the growth in unionization at colleges and universities and links to video excerpts from our 2020 annual conference. Lastly, the newsletter contains updates about recent decisions and filings related to collective bargaining and labor relations in higher education including the most recent NLRB decision analyzing the application of the Yeshiva doctrine to contingent faculty.
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Register Now for the National Center's 48th Annual Conference:
A Virtual Conference on May 17-21, 2021
Higher Education, Collective Bargaining, and the Biden Administration
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Registration is now open for the National Center's 48th Annual Conference, which will take place virtually during the week of May 17, 2021. The theme of the conference will be Higher Education, Collective Bargaining, and the Biden Administration. While we will not be charging a conference registration fee this year, we welcome donations to help support our mission and activities.
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List of Currently Confirmed 2021 Conference Panels |
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The following is a list of currently confirmed panels and panelists:
Plenary: The Biden Administration: Higher Education and Labor Initiatives with Lynn Pasquerella, President, Association of American Colleges and Universities, Mark Gaston Pearce, Executive Director, Workers Rights, Georgetown University Law School and former National Labor Relations Board Chairman, Damon A. Silvers, Director of Policy and Special Counsel, AFL-CIO, and Michael Loconto, Founding Principal, Fenway Law, LLC, Moderator.
Panel: Challenges of the Past Year and Perspectives about the Future with Daniel Greenstein, Chancellor, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, Susan Poser, Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Illinois Chicago, and Scott Jaschik, Editor, Inside Higher Ed, Moderator (panel in formation).
Panel: Collective Bargaining in Higher Education: Best Practices for the Promotion of Collaboration, Equity and Measurable Outcomes with Daniel J. Julius, Visiting Fellow, Yale University, School of Management and Professor of Management, New Jersey City University, Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Professor, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Adrienne E. Eaton, Dean, School of Management and Labor Relations, Distinguished Professor, Labor Studies & Employment Relations Department, Rutgers University, Thomas Kochan, MIT Sloan Institute for Work and Employment Research at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and David Lewin, Professor Emeritus, Management and Organizations, UCLA Anderson School of Management. This panel is co-sponsored by the LERA Higher Education Industry Council.
Panel: Principles and Practices for Effective Negotiations with Kathy Sheffield, Director of Representation and Bargaining, California Faculty Association, Barry Miller, Senior Policy Advisor on Labour Relations, Office of the Provost, York University, Deborah Williams, Johnson County Community College Faculty Association, and Judi Burgess, Esq., Director of Labor Relations, Boston University.
Panel: Social Unionism to Bargaining for the Common Good in Higher Education: Then and Now with Charles Toombs, President, California Faculty Association, Ellen Schrecker, Professor Emerita of American History, Yeshiva University, Andrew Feffer, Professor, History, Union College, Marilyn Sneiderman, Professor and Director, Center for Innovation in Worker Organization, Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations, and Malini Cadambi-Daniel, Director for Higher Education, SEIU, Moderator.
Panel: Contingency, On-Line Education and Faculty Strikes in the US and the UK with Mariya Ivancheva, Lecturer in Higher Education Studies at the University of Liverpool, Robert Ovetz, Lecturer, Political Science, San Jose State University, David Harvie, Associate Professor of Finance and Political Economy, University of Leicester, and Alyssa Picard, Director, AFT Higher Education, Moderator.
Panel: Preparing and Presenting Grievances in Arbitration with Sarah Miller Espinosa, Labor Arbitrator, Mediator, and Ombuds, Letitia F. Silas, Executive Director of Systemwide Labor Relations, University of California, Tara Singer-Blumberg Labor Relations Specialist, New York State United Teachers and Homer C. La Rue, Labor Arbitrator, Mediator, and Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law, Panelist and Moderator.
Panel: Higher Education Legal Update with Henry Morris Jr., Partner, Arent Fox LLP, Monica Barrett, Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, Angela Thompson, Associate Director, AFT Legal Department, and Aaron Nisenson, Senior Legal Counsel, AAUP, Panelist and Moderator.
Panel: Academic Freedom in Collective Bargaining Agreements and Faculty Handbooks with Hans-Joerg Tiede, Director of Research, AAUP, Risa Lieberwitz, General Counsel, AAUP and Professor of Labor and Employment Law, Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Missy A. Matella, Watkinson Laird Rubenstein, P.C, and Jeffrey Cross, Former Associate VP, Academic Affairs, Eastern Illinois University (Emeritus), Editor, Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, Moderator.
Book Panel: How Public Employees Win and Lose the Right to Bargain with Dominic Wells, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Bowling Green State University, author of From Collective Bargaining to Collective Begging: How Public Employees Win and Lose the Right to Bargain (2020), William P. Jones, Professor & Director of Graduate Studies, Department of History, University of Minnesota, President, Labor and Working-Class History Association, and William A. Herbert, National Center Executive Director, Moderator.
Panel: Speaking of Dignity: Non-Unionized Adjunct Faculty Teaching at a Catholic Church-Affiliated University with Jacob Bennett, University of New Hampshire, Maria Maisto, New Faculty Majority, James Coppess, Associate General Counsel, AFL-CIO, and David Marshall, Director, Center for Labor and Employment Law, Dorothy Day Professor of Law, St. John's University School of Law, Panelist and Moderator.
Book Panel: Just Universities: Catholic Social Teaching Confronts Corporatized Universities with Gerald J. Beyer, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics, Villanova University, Patricia McGuire, President, Trinity Washington University, Discussant, and Donna Haverty-Stacke, Professor, History, Hunter College, CUNY, Moderator (panel in formation).
Book Panel: Joe Biden and Catholicism in the United States with Massimo Faggioli, Villanova University Theologian, Anthea Butler, Professor, Religious Studies and Graduate Chair in the Department of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania, and Paul Moses, Professor of Journalism, Brooklyn College, CUNY, Moderator (panel in formation).
Panel: Shared Governance, Collective Bargaining, and the Future of Online Learning in Light of COVID-19 with Anthony G. Picciano, Professor, Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center, School of Education, Irene Mulvey, President, AAUP, and Theodore Curry, Professor of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Michigan State University, Moderator (panel in formation).
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Download the National Center's Study on Higher Education
Unionization Growth, 2013-2019
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The study was co-written by National Center Executive Director Bill Herbert, Jake Apkarian, Assistant Professor of Sociology, York College, CUNY, and Joey van der Naald, a PhD candidate in the program in sociology, CUNY Graduate Center.
It analyzes data regarding new bargaining units, bargaining agents, and contracts in higher education for the period 2013-2019 The study includes a listing of all new bargaining relationships concerning faculty, department chairs, librarians, postdoctoral scholars, academic researchers, and/or graduate student employees.
The study finds:
- An increase of 118 new faculty bargaining units with a total of 36,264 newly represented faculty (20,160 at public sector institutions, 15,898 at private non-profit institutions, and 206 at for-profit institutions).
- An 81.3% increase in bargaining units at private institutions and a 61.0% increase in represented faculty at those institutions, primarily among adjunct faculty. In comparison, there was an 8.8% growth in new public sector faculty units and a 5.8% growth in organized public sector faculty.
- One new faculty bargaining unit created in 21 States and the District of Columbia with California (19), New York (17), Florida (13), and Massachusetts (11) having the largest number of new faculty collective bargaining relationships. The new faculty union at Duke University was the first at a private institution in a right-to-work state since 1992.
- There are now over 14,000 organized postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers in bargaining units at six public sector institutions and six private non-profit institutions.
- There have been 16 new graduate student employee bargaining units since 2012 with over 19,600 newly represented student employees. Eleven of the bargaining units are at private institutions with over 15,600 newly represented student employees, while in 2012 there were no organized units in the private sector. There are now 8 private universities with contracts applicable to graduate student employees.
Unlike prior directories, the 2020 Supplementary Directory includes a detailed unit composition description for each new unit as well as hyperlinks to the most recent contract for each new unit. This information is aimed at enhancing future research and avoiding confusion over unit composition, particularly when faculty units include other titles.
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National Center's 47th Annual Conference: A Major Virtual Success |
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The National Center's 47th annual conference was held virtually on October 19-20, 2020 with the assistance of the New York City Seminar and Conference Center.
The conference agenda was filled with panels and discussions on critical issues facing higher education and our country. Click here for the conference program and agenda.
We thank all of the conference speakers, panelists, and attendees for helping to make our first virtual conference a major success. Below are video excerpts from the conference.
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We thank TIAA for sponsoring our 47th annual conference as well as AFT, SEIU, and The Standard Insurance Company for providing additional financial support.
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Video Excerpts from the National Center's 47th Annual Conference |
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Plenary: The Student Debt Crisis: History, Consequences, and Post-Pandemic Solutions with Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, Associate Professor, Loyola University Chicago, Caitlin Zaloom, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, New York University, Jennifer Mishory, Senior Fellow and Senior Policy Advisor, Century Foundation, and Suzanne Kahn, Director, Education, Jobs, and Worker Power and the Great Democracy Initiative at the Roosevelt Institute.
Growth in Union Density Among Academic Labor, 2013-2019 with Jacob Apkarian, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Department of Behavioral Sciences, York College, CUNY and National Center Affiliated Researcher, Joseph van der Naald, Graduate Student Researcher, Program in Sociology, Graduate Center, CUNY and National Center Affiliated Researcher, and William A. Herbert, Distinguished Lecturer and National Center Executive Director, Moderator and Presenter. Discussants: Gary Rhoades, Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona, JCBA Co-editor and Adrianna Kezar, Endowed Professor and Dean's Professor of Leadership, USC, Director of the Pullias Center.
Conference Greetings by Christina R. Cutlip, Senior Managing Director, Institutional Relationships, TIAA.
Negotiating for Part-Time Faculty Equity with Will Silvio, President, Berklee College of Music Faculty Union, Jay Kennedy, Berklee College of Music Vice President for Academic Affairs/Vice Provost, Darryl Wood, NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist, Dia M.Carleton, Chief Human Resources Officer, SUNY Oneonta, and Beth Margolis, Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, LLP, Moderator.
Labor as Contingent as Free Speech? An Analysis of Recent Adjunct Faculty First Amendment Cases with Nora Devlin, Doctoral Candidate, Rutgers Graduate School of Education, Stacy Hawkins, Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School, Commentator, Martin Malin, Professor of Law and Co-Director, Institute for Law and the Workplace, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, Commentator, and Christopher Simeone, AAUP, Moderator.
Contingent Faculty, Job Security, and Academic Freedom with Carl Levine, Levy Ratner P.C., Keila Tennant, Associate General Counsel and VP for Labor Relations, The New School, Sonam Singh, former Unit Chair, BCF-UAW Local 2110, and Barry Miller, Senior Policy Advisor on Labour Relations, Office of the Provost, York University, Moderator.
Collective Bargaining from All Sides: Unionism, the Faculty Senate, Contingent Faculty, and Academic Administration with Naomi R. Williams, Assistant Professor, Labor Studies and Employment Relations, Rutgers University, Nelson Ouellet, Associate Professor, Université de Moncton, David Hamilton Golland, Professor, History, Governors State University, Jon E. Bekken, Professor, Communications, Albright College, and Theodore H. Curry, Professor of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Michigan State University, Moderator.
Higher Education Funding After the Pandemic with Fred Floss, Professor and Chair, Department of Economics and Finance, SUNY Buffalo State University and Fiscal Policy Institute, Senior Fellow, Thomas Anderson, Executive Director, Union of Part-Time Faculty, AFT Local 477, AFL-CIO, Thomas L. Harnisch, Vice President for Government Relations, and Sophia Laderman, Senior Policy Analyst, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO).
Race and Labor In Historical and Contemporary Contexts with Bill Fletcher, Jr. author and activist, former president of TransAfrica Forum, and Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies. Discussants: Derryn Moten, Alabama State University, co-president of the Alabama State University Faculty-Staff Alliance and a vice president of the Alabama AFL-CIO and Sherri-Ann Butterfield, Executive Vice Chancellor and Associate Professor, Sociology, Office of the Chancellor, Rutgers University—Newark. DeWayne Sheaffer, National Council for Higher Education, National Education Association, Moderator.
Black Lives Matter on Campus and Beyond with Calvin Smiley, Assistant Professor, Sociology, Hunter College, CUNY, Paul Ortiz, University of Florida Chapter President, United Faculty of Florida NEA-AFT, Terri Givens, CEO and Founder, Center for Higher Education Leadership, Elijah Armstrong, Organizational Specialist in Human and Civil Rights, National Education Association, and Alethea Taylor, Doctoral Lecturer/Internship Site Developer, Hunter College - School of Education, Department of Educational Foundations and Counseling, Participant and Moderator.
Title IX Regulations: Bargaining Issues for Unions and Institutions with Rana Jaleel, Assistant Professor, Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies, University of California, Davis, Lance Houston, University EEO, Inc., Debra Osofsky, Negotiator, Educator and Contract Specialist, and Judi Burgess, Director of Labor Relations, Boston University, Moderator.
Affirmative Action in Higher Education, Post-Pandemic with Cara McClellan, Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Risa Lieberwitz, General Counsel, AAUP and Professor of Labor and Employment Law, Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Victor Goode, Associate Professor, CUNY Law School, and Lili Palacios-Baldwin, Deputy General Counsel for Labor, Employment & Litigation, Tufts University, Moderator.
The Equal Rights Amendment and Higher Education with Julie Suk, Dean for Master’s Programs and Professor, Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center, Elizabeth Schneider, Rose L. Hoffer Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School, Jessica Neuwirth, Distinguished Lecturer and Rita E. Hauser Director, Human Rights Program, Roosevelt House, Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, CUNY, and Wendi Lazar, Partner, Outten & Golden, Moderator.
The Old Wolf, Again: Latinx Faculty Negotiations, Recruitment, Retention, and Racism in the Academy with Theresa Montaño, California State University, Northridge, Chicana/o Studies, California Faculty Association, José Luis Morín, Chairperson, Department of Latin American and Latinx Studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Michael Ortiz, Sul Ross University, and José Cintrón, Professor, College of Education, CSU Sacramento, California Faculty Association, Moderator.
Mass Incarceration and Higher Education with Patrick Mitchell, Board Member, Community College Association, CTA, NEA, Michelle Jones, Doctoral Student, New York University, Vivian Nixon, Columbia University Teaching Fellow, and Bidhan Chandra Roy, College of Arts and Letters, California State University, Los Angeles, Participant and Moderator.
Reasonable Accommodations for Faculty and Teaching Assistants with Jamie Daniel, Former National Field Service Representative, AAUP, Laura Yvonne Bulk, President, CUPE Local 2278 (Canadian Union of Public Employees), PhD Candidate, Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Barbara Aloni, Disability & Productivity Consultant, The Standard Insurance Company, John Rose, Dean for Diversity, Hunter College, CUNY, and Alexandra (Sascha) Matish, Associate Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs and Senior Director, Academic Human Resources, University of Michigan, Moderator.
Retirement Plan Trends in the COVID-19 Pandemic with Patricia McConnell, Levy, Ratner, PC, Gary Herzlich, Senior Director, Associate General Counsel, TIAA, Susan E. Bernstein, Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP, and Christina Cutlip, Senior Managing Director, Institutional Relationships, TIAA, Moderator.
LGBTQ Labor Issues in Higher Education After Bostock v. Clayton County with Barbara J. Diamond, Diamond Law, Portland, Oregon, Mellissa Sortman, Director of Academic Human Resources, Michigan State University, Elizabeth S. Hough, Counsel to the President, United University Professions, and Elizabethe C. Payne, Founder and Director, Queering Education Research Institute (QuERI) and faculty at CUNY, Moderator.
Health and Safety Issues and COVID-19 with Deborah Berkowitz, Worker Safety and Health Program Director, National Employment Law Project, Amy Bahruth, Assistant Director for Health and Safety, AFT, Jeffrey Hescock, Executive Director Environmental Health and Safety, UMass Amherst, and Thomas H. Riley, Jr. Executive Director of Labor and Employee Relations and Special Counsel for the University of Illinois System, Moderator.
Unemployment Insurance Policies and Practices: Adjunct Faculty, COVID-19, and Beyond with Michele Evermore, Senior Research and Policy Analyst, National Employment Law Project, George Wentworth, Of Counsel, National Employment Law Project, Arnab Datta, Senior Legislative Counsel, Employ America, and Francisco Diez, Worker Justice Policy Advocate, Center for Popular Democracy, Participant and Moderator.
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Research on COVID-19 and Collective Bargaining |
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Consistent with our research mission, the National Center is examining the use of collective bargaining in higher education during the COVID-19 crisis.
To assist with this research project, we request institutions of higher education and unions representing faculty, graduate assistants, and other campus workers to upload copies of any written agreements reached in response to the pandemic. Questions concerning this research inquiry can be emailed here.
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Elon University: NLRB Upholds NTT Bargaining Unit |
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Elon University, NLRB Case No. 10-RC-231745
On February 19, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision
rejecting Elon University's challenge to the right of its non-tenure track faculty to be represented by SEIU for purposes of collective bargaining. The at-issue bargaining unit included limited term, visiting, and adjunct faculty. The university had claimed that those faculty members were managerial without the right to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act pursuant to NLRB v. Yeshiva University, 444 U.S. 672 (1980).
In its decision, the NLRB Board slightly modified the standards set forth in Pacific Lutheran University, 361 NLRB 1404 (2014) for determining the managerial status of faculty by rejecting the "subgroup majority status rule" that would exclude contingent faculty from managerial status when they did not constitute a controlling majority in university governing bodies. The NLRB's rejection of the subgroup majority status rule is consistent with the 2019 decision by a federal appellate court decision in University of Southern California v. NLRB, 918 F.2d 126 (D.C. Cir. 2019).
Under the new modified standard, an institution can demonstrate the managerial status of a faculty subgroup by showing that: 1) a faculty body exercises effective control over the following areas of decision-making: academic programs, enrollment management, finances, academic policy, and personnel policies and decisions; and 2) the petitioning subgroup is included in the structure and operations of that managerial faculty body.
In the present case, the NLRB Board found that Elon University failed to meet its evidentiary burden of establishing that the at-issue contingent faculty are structurally and operational included in the university's managerial bodies. The Board summarized its finding in the following manner:
----Taken together, the nature of the petitioned-for faculty’s employment and
--their categorical exclusion from several of the collegial bodies that oversee
--the Pacific Lutheran areas of consideration, along with the Employer’s failure
--to identify more than one petitioned-for faculty member serving on any of the
--Employer’s committees, warrant a finding that the petitioned-for classifications
--are not structurally included in the Employer’s collegial bodies. Accordingly, they
--are not managerial, and we need not consider whether the Employer’s collegial
--bodies exercise actual control or effective recommendation with respect to the
--Pacific Lutheran areas of consideration. We emphasize, however, that the
--determining factor in this case is not that the petitioned-for faculty constitute a
--minority on the Employer’s shared governance bodies; rather, it is that, based on the
--evidence as a whole, the Employer has failed to demonstrate that they are structurally --included in these bodies.
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Ithaca College: Arbitrator Rules College Lacked Just Cause to Discipline |
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SEIU, Local 200 United and Ithaca College, AAA Case No. 01-20-0007-3658
On February 14, 2021, Arbitrator Richard N. Chapman issued an arbitration opinion and award sustaining an SEIU grievance alleging that Ithaca College lacked just cause to issue a disciplinary warning to Lecturer Tom Schaller based on a May 6, 2020 message titled Solidarity in a Time of Crisis: A Plea from Your Contingent Colleagues, which was posted on the college’s internal electronic system.
The May 6 message was directed to the entire college community and included suggested actions by administrators and faculty to minimize the likely adverse impact of the COVID-19 crisis on part-time bargaining unit faculty.
The message electronic stated, in part:
--Here are some immediate actions the administration (and larger community)
--can take to help live up to this institution's purported values:
--Honor multi-year contracts for contingent faculty as you have promised to do
--for our NTEN and TT colleagues...
--lf due to unmitigable conditions, contingent faculty must be let go, supply a
--letter that explicitly states that these non-renewals are caused by Covid-19. . .
--Don't contest UI claims by contingent employees.
--Grant library "affiliate" cards for contingent faculty....
--To Department Chairs and Deans: Grant "Leaves of Absence" to all contingent-faculty
--laid off/not rehired ....
--To our Tenured/TT Colleagues and our NTEN Colleagues with the means
--to do so:-Consider refusing summer overload credits. Pressure your
--department to privilege-the most vulnerable faculty for these overages so
--that those who find themselves jobless in the fall might have a final few
--paychecks before being laid off in August.
On May 20, 2020, the college issued a disciplinary warning to Schaller asserting that the electronic message requesting tenured and tenure track faculty and NTEN colleagues to refuse summer overload credits constituted a violation of the no strike provision in the Ithaca College-SEIU collective bargaining agreement, which states, in part:
--The Union agrees that it will not call, instigate, engage or participate in, encourage,
--approve or endorse, nor will it permit any Faculty member in the bargaining unit to
--call, instigate, or participate in, any strike; sympathy strike; sit down;
--slow-down; demonstration that interferes with or disrupts the fulfillment of their
--duties as educators as a result of the Union or bargaining unit Faculty members'
--action; withholding or delaying any grades, academic evaluations, or other required
--documents as a form of concerted activity (as defined by the National Labor
--Relations Act); or any interference with or stoppage of work by bargaining unit
--Faculty members. Any bargaining unit Faculty member engaging in any
--conduct prohibited by this Article may be subject to immediate disciplinary
--action, including discharge.
In his arbitration opinion and award, Arbitrator Chapman concluded that the May 6 message did not constitute a violation of the contract’s no-strike clause because it only sought faculty “with the means to do so” to consider declining summer overload credits, which is subject to faculty consent. The message did not call for concerted activity by faculty to interfere with college operations and it was part of series of requests directed to administrators and faculty to help the economic plight of part-time faculty facing the economic consequences of the pandemic. As a result, the arbitrator found that the college lacked just cause to issue the disciplinary warning to Schaller.
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Florida Gulf Coast Univ.: DFR Charge Against Dismissed as Untimely
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Parfitt v. United Faculty of Florida- Florida Gulf Coast University Chapter, FPERC CB-2020-026
On January 19, 2021, Florida PERC General Counsel John G. Showalter summarily dismissed as untimely an amended duty of fair representation charge filed on November 2, 2020 by Christopher M. Parfitt against United Faculty of Florida concerning a grievance challenging his 2018 termination. In his charge, Parfitt alleged that he first learned that the union had not timely sent a letter to the Florida Gulf Coast University permitting him to proceed to arbitration without union representation until he received a federal court decision, dated April 15, 2020, in related litigation. Accepting his allegations as true, General Counsel Showalter found that the charge was untimely because it was filed more than six months after issuance of the federal court decision.
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Florida Gulf Coast University: ULP Dismissed as Untimely |
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Parfitt v. Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees, FPERC CA-2020-041
On January 19, 2021, Florida PERC General Counsel John G. Showalter summarily dismissed as untimely an amended unfair labor practice charge filed on November 2, 2020 by Christopher M. Parfitt against Florida Gulf Coast University asserting various violations based on the university's handling of his grievance challenging his termination on December 7, 2018. Parfitt filed his charge challenging the university's conduct in 2018 and 2019 only after his federal lawsuit against the university was dismissed. General Counsel Showalter determined that the charge was untimely because it was filed over six months after Partift knew or should have known of the university's actions and the pendency of his federal lawsuit did not toll the statute of limitations for filing a charge.
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California Institute of the Arts: CWA Files to Represent Technical Unit |
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California Institute of the Arts, NLRB Case No. 31-RC-272320
On February 5, 2021, CWA filed a petition seeking to represent a unit of all full-time and regular part-time technical artists support staff employees working for the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. A notice of a mail ballot election was issued on February 22, 2022.
The following is the originally proposed bargaining unit sought by CWA:
Included: All Technical Artist, Support Staff, Studio and Gallery Manager, Equipment Coordinator (Film Cage), Cage Technician, Head of Production Services, Technical Specialist, Production and Installation, Chief Video Engineer, Digital Labs Manager, Technical Specialist in Animation, Equipment Supervisor, Technical Support Coordinator, Technical Specialist, Production and Installation, Technical Specialist in Sound, Associate Technical Director, Piano Technician, Master Electrician, Associate Costume Shop Manager, Production Associate, Dance Staff.
Excluded: All other employees, guards, office clerical and supervisors.
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I. Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations,
Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations
LEARN Director
Posting Summary:
Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR), Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations (LSER), is seeking a non-tenure track faculty member (rank open) to direct our LEARN (Labor Education and Research Network) program (https://smlr.rutgers.edu/content/labor-education-and-research-now-learn).
The Labor Education Action Research Network is the continuing education unit of LSER. The State of New Jersey established the Rutgers Institute for Management and Labor Relations in 1947 to provide extension services that would both help to foster labor-management cooperation in New Jersey workplaces and educate labor-management representatives and the general public about the advantages of such cooperation as well as the means to achieve it.
As SMLR has grown and expanded its mission, adding degree programs, research centers, and special programs, LEARN remains a central component of our mission. LEARN works with the Center for Innovation in Worker Organization (CIWO) to fulfill this mission and improve the lives of working people in New Jersey and beyond. LEARN sponsors public programs and activities that strengthen the community at work, facilitate workplace democracy, and address inequalities of power and wealth in the wider society.
Minimum Education and Experience:
The successful candidate will have a commitment to improving the lives of working people in New Jersey and building a robust network to fulfill the missions of SMLR, LSER, and LEARN. A master’s degree in a related field is required, although a doctoral, law, or other terminal degree is preferred. A record of participation in applied research related to labor studies and employment relations is also desirable.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Ability:
Candidates should also have experience designing, developing, and recruiting for labor education programs, including programs targeted at a leadership level.
We are interested in someone who can work with faculty and labor leaders to develop a mix of leadership programs and who can reshape and recruit for our Union Leadership Academy, certificate programs, and other New Jersey-based offerings.
Candidates must have extensive experience in the labor movement and in labor education.
II. School of Labor and Employment Relations, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign
Program Coordinator – Labor Education Program
Primary Position Function/Summary:
Manage the LEP programs which includes: program implementation and evaluation; supervision of event planning; execution of marketing and communications of the programs; coordinating and managing fund raising activities; and also oversee the work of the Project for Middle Class Renewal as well as external outreach relationships to the constituencies that LEP serves.
Qualifications:
Required: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university. One year of education, training and/or work experience with program/project management and or event planning.
Demonstrated experience in graphic design.
Preferred: Demonstrated fundraising experience.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Familiarity with the labor movement and knowledge of statewide labor leaders. Comfort and experience with reaching out to union leaders, employer groups, non-profit organizations and public bodies.
Ability to work independently and to use initiative to propose programs and projects.
Effective communication skills, both oral and written.
Competency in using all Microsoft Suite applications.
Ability to use social media platforms to create outreach marketing material and do graphic design on program materials.
Capable of building strong professional relationships with diverse groups and a genuine commitment to advancing middle-class economic opportunities for all workers.
Full Job Posting:
III. New Jersey Institute of Technology
The New Jersey Institute of Technology is soliciting applicants for the position of Employee and Labor Relations Manager. The following are excerpts from the job posting:
Position Summary:
The Employee and Labor Relations Manager reports to the Director of Employee and Labor Relations and facilitates the development, implementation and administration of employee relations programs and policies. This position will manage all workplace-related regulatory and compliance issues and collective bargaining protocols and procedures. The incumbent is responsible for advising and assisting faculty and staff with HR policies and procedures, as directed. The incumbent will also act as a HR Business Partner to academic or administrative units. The incumbent will be the point of contact to assist with labor and employee relations matters in the absence of the Director of Employee Relations and Labor.
Essential Functions:
• Collective Negotiations: Provides labor relations support to the negotiation teams. Advises and assists in the interpretation and administration of collective bargaining agreements. Maintains and analyzes labor policy, practices and environment in furtherance of the collective negotiation practices of the Department, under the strategic guidance of the Director of Employee and Labor Relations. • Collective Agreement Administration: Administers and interprets university collective bargaining agreements. Administers grievance procedures under the direction of the Director of Employee and Labor Relations.
• Employee Relations: Investigates and reports on complaints from employees. Researches relevant federal, state and local labor and employment laws. Drafts responses to formal labor and employment complaints. Works with the Director to identify and create innovative solutions to solve and prevent problems. Manages day-to-day activities involving employee relations and complaints, labor relations matters, discrimination/sexual harassment claim investigations, and resolution to other employee-related issues. • Discrimination and Discriminatory/Sexual Harassment: Monitors compliance with university policy. Investigate complaints of discrimination and harassment in the university community.
• HR Business Partner to academic and/or administrative units: Proactively assess our partners’ organizational needs and implement solutions in a thoughtful way within a fast-paced environment, demonstrating and understanding of client the business needs and being a thought leader on people and organizational topics. Think strategically, use data to guide direction, be comfortable challenging business leaders, and reinvent how work is done. • Policy Implementation: Participate in the development and implementation of university-wide policies, including working with various groups to ensure policies are in compliance with the university's overall mission. • Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance: Assist in monitoring campus adherence to university policies of affirmative action/equal opportunity/diversity as well as to the applicable laws, regulations and guidelines. • Confidentiality: Ensure and practice strict confidentiality of all matters human resources related matters, except expressly publishable in carrying out the specific responsibilities of the job.
Essential Characteristics:
Successful performance of this position demands consistent demonstration of the following uncompromised performance characteristics: 1. Honesty and integrity above reproach, remaining steadfast in commitment to the charged responsibilities of the position and not yielding to the constant pressures of special interests. 2. Broad range, demonstrated with a mature professionalism, remaining above the undermining fray; never publishing or acting upon personal judgments or casting aspersions. 3. Adaptability to an intense, highly charged and continually varied workload and constituency, demonstrating innovation and keen prioritization capability. 4. Teaming, demonstrating basic courage of conviction, keen organizational awareness and unqualified commitment to HR's and the university's success; leading by example, an excellent work ethic and commitment to positional responsibilities without losing customer focus in the face of personalized professional endeavors and personnel matters in controversy. 5. Effective communication skills and professional conviction, managing conflicts, finding consensus where practicable. 6. Continued learning capacity and orientation demanded by the multifaceted, dynamic nature of the job.
Prerequisite Qualifications:
A Bachelor’s degree in human resources management or labor studies plus a minimum of three years of professional, legal, compliance or human resources experience, with demonstrated knowledge of the employee relations and labor relations function. Demonstrable written and verbal communication skills. Demonstrated experience in MS Office Suites. At the university's discretion, the education and experience prerequisites may be excepted where the candidate can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the university, an equivalent combination of education and experience specifically preparing the candidate for success in the position.
IV. School of Labor and Employment Relations, University of Illinois at
Urbana Champaign (Chicago Office)
The School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign invites applications for a full-time position of Lecturer or Instructor of Labor and Employment Law, assigned to the Labor Education Program. This is a 12-month education program that offers labor studies and employment rights education to union members, unrepresented workers and university undergraduates.
The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability or veteran status.
This position is based in the Chicago office of the Labor Education Program. Considerable travel around the state of Illinois is required.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Advanced Degree (JD/MS/PhD) in an appropriate social science discipline or professional area of study, i.e., history, political science, sociology, labor relations, labor studies, public policy, economics, gender race studies, and JD degrees with at least 3 years of teaching/training experience in the labor studies or employment rights field.
For details go to:
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Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy , Volume 11 |
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Below are links to articles that appear in Volume 11 of the Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, our peer review multi-disciplinary journal co-edited by Jeffrey Cross, Eastern Illinois University (Emeritus), and Gary Rhoades, University of Arizona.
Op-Eds:
Articles:
Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas, Laurel Smith-Doerr, Henry Renski, and Laras Sekarasih,
Practitioner Perspectives
We encourage scholars and practitioners in the fields of collective bargaining, labor relations, and labor history to submit articles for potential publication in future volumes of the Journal.
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
Hunter College, City University of New York
425 E 25th St.
Box 615
New York, NY 10010
Copyright © 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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