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January 2025 Newsletter

William A. Herbert, Executive Editor

Daniel Cronin, Student Editor

Jenna Salem, Student Editor

In this month's newsletter, we provide the tentative agenda, a list of confirmed panels and speakers, registration information, and sponsorship opportunities for our 52nd annual conference on March 23-25, 2025. The conference will take place at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute and the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City.

The newsletter also includes findings and hyperlinks to the National Center's 2024 studies: Anti-Discrimination Clauses in Higher Education Collective Bargaining Agreements and the 2024 Directory of Bargaining Agents and Contracts in Institutions of Higher Education.

The newsletter also includes news about the United States Supreme Court’s refusal to consider a lawsuit challenging exclusive union representation in higher education. In addition, we report on pending Maryland legislation to extend collective bargaining rights to university faculty, graduate student employees and post-doctoral scholars, the withdrawal of representation petitions involving undergraduate student workers, the certifications of SEIU to represent an academic administrator unit at Brandeis University, and to represent ten new bargaining units of interns and residents. Finally, the newsletter reports on two new museum employee bargaining units, one in New York, and the other in Maryland.

Registration is open for our 52nd annual conference, which will take place on March 23-25, 2025 in New York City with the theme of Unity in Defense of Higher Education and Collective Bargaining.

To register for the 2025 annual conference click here.

For the conference schedule: click here.

The following is a list of currently confirmed conference panels:

Keynote Presentation: Unity in Defense of Higher Education and Collective Bargaining with Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers, Lynn Pasquerella, President, American Association of Colleges and Universities, and Adrienne Lu, Senior Reporter, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Moderator.

Plenary: Five Years after George Floyd: A New Era for DEI in Higher Education with Nancy Cantor, President, Hunter College, CUNY, Robert J. Jones, Chancellor, The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Charles Toombs, President, California Faculty Association, Taiese Bingham-Hickman, Executive Director, The Leadership Alliance, Brown University, and Adrianna J. Kezar, Professor, Higher Education and Director, Pullias Center for Higher Education, University of Southern California, Moderator.

Research Panel: 2024 Directory of Faculty Contracts and Bargaining Agents in Higher Education with Jacob Apkarian, Associate Professor, Sociology, York College, CUNY, Joseph van der Naald, PhD Candidate in Sociology, Graduate Center, CUNY, Susan Kelly, President, Microsearch Corporation, Mary Taber, Director of Research, UUP, Commentator, Dana Fleming, Associate General Counsel, Tufts University, Commentator, and Malini Cadambi-Daniel, Executive Director, Professional Staff Congress-CUNY, AFT Local 2334, Moderator.

Panel: Loper Bright, Labor Rights, and the Attack on the Administrative State with Diana Reddy, Assistant Professor of Law, Faculty Co-Director, Center for Law and Work, UC Berkeley Law, Seth D. Harris, Distinguished Professor of Practice, Doctoral Program in Law & Policy and Affiliated Faculty and Senior Fellow, Burnes Center for Social Change, Northeastern University, David Lopez, University Professor of Law, Professor Alfred Slocum Scholar, and Co-Dean Emeritus, Rutgers University, and Deepa Das Acevado, Associate Professor of Law, Emory University Law School, Moderator.

Panel: Artificial Intelligence: Changing the Bargaining Landscape with Jeffrey M. Hirsch, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Geneva Yeargan Rand Distinguished Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law, Kyle Arnone, Director, AFT Collective Bargaining, Nicholas L. Collins, ArentFox Schiff LLP, and Framroze M. Virjee, President, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, Moderator.

Panel: Current Immigration Issues in Higher Education with Channing Cooper, Deputy Director, AFT Legal Department, Miriam Feldblum, co-founder and Executive Director, Presidents Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, Cianna Freeman-Tolbert, Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, and Cynthia Carvajal, Director of Undocumented and Immigrant Student Programs, CUNY Student Affairs, Moderator.

Panel: Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations: Looking Back, Looking Forward with Carl Levine, Levy Ratner, Peter A. Jones, Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, Faye Moore, Director of Contract Administration, Professional Staff Congress, CUNY, AFT Local 2334, Thomas H. Riley, Jr., Executive Director of Labor and Special Counsel, University of Illinois System, and Theodore H. Curry, Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Human Resources Emeritus, Professor Emeritus, School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Michigan State University, Moderator.

Book Discussion: Organizing Professionals: Academic Employees Negotiating a New Academy (Rutgers University Press, 2025) by Gary Rhoades Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona. (Panel in formation).

Workshop: The Fundamentals for Labor Management Committees in Higher Education with Stephanie Burkes, Program Associates for Labor Management Services, NYS-CSEA Partnership, Daniel Shook, Program Associates for Labor Management Services, NYS-CSEA Partnership, and Liesl K. Zwicklbauer, Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Counsel for Employee Relations, Moderator.

Panel: “We Have a First contract – Now What?” with Katherine H. Hansen, Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, LLP, John H. Gross, Ingerman Smith LLP, John Coverdale, Arbitrator, Ahsan Ali, Senior Director of Labor Relations, Tufts University, Robin J. Sowards, Staff Representative, District 10, United Steelworkers, and Katie Rosen, Arbitrator & Mediator, Moderator.

Panel: New Developments, Old Problems for Contingent Faculty with Elizabethada Wright, Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth, and Contract Administrator, UEA, Rebecca Ropers, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Minnesota Duluth, Gretchen L. McNamara, President, Ohio Conference of AAUP, Commentator, Randa B. Wahbe, Vice President, Community College Association (CTA/NEA), Commentator, and Christina Gallup, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth.

Panel: Antiracism and Social Justice Issues and Working Conditions as Negotiable Subjects with Sharon Elise, Professor of Sociology, California State University, San Marcos and Associative Vice President, Council for Racial and Social Justice, California Faculty Association, Donna Murch, Associate Professor of History, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Region 4 AAUP National Council Member and former Chapter President of the New Brunswick chapter of the Rutgers AAUP AFT, Kathy Sheffield, Director of Representation and Bargaining, California Faculty Association, Karen R. Stubaus, National Center Visiting Scholar and former Vice President for Academic Affairs, Rutgers University, and Margarita Berta Avila, Professor of Education, Sacramento State University and Vice President, California Faculty Association, Moderator.

Panel: Administrator Responses to Campus Protest: Lessons from History

with Ellen Schrecker, Professor of History (retired), Yeshiva University, member AAUP Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, Paul Ortiz, Professor of Labor History, Cornell ILR, Jelani Favors, Henry E. Frye Distinguished Professor, Department of History and Political Science and Director, Center of Excellence for Social Justice, North Carolina A&T State University, and Dale Kapla, Senior Associate Provost, Northern Michigan University, Moderator.

Panel: The Uses and Abuses of Title VI with Rana Jaleel, Associate Professor, Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies and Asian American Studies, University of California-Davis, Chair, Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, AAUP, Risa Lieberwitz, Professor of Labor and Employment Law, Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Frederick P. Schaffer, former General Counsel, CUNY, and Suzanne B. Goldberg, Herbert and Doris Wechsler Clinical Professor of Law, and Director, Center for Gender & Sexuality Law & Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic, Columbia University Law School, Moderator.

Panel: Annual Legal Update (CLE) with Damien DiGiovanni, Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP, Amy L. Rosenberger, Willig, Williams & Davidson, Aaron Nisenson, Senior Legal Counsel, AAUP, Brian Selchick, Cullen and Dykman LLP, and Ayanna T. Blake, Director Labor Relations, Weill Cornell Medicine, Moderator.

Facilitated Workshop: Mindfulness as Both a Life Skill and a Negotiator's Asset with Lili Palacios-Baldwin, Deputy General Counsel, Tufts University and Joshua Wright, Lecturer, Department of Psychology, The City College of New York.

Panel: A New Approach to Interest-Based Bargaining in the State of Florida: Successful Bargaining in Challenging Times with Eric Scarffe, President UFF-FIU, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Florida International University, Daniel Saunders, Chief Negotiator UFF-FIU, Associate Professor of Higher Education, Florida International University, Heather Russell, Vice Provost, Faculty Leadership and Success, Florida International University, Barbara Manzano, Chief Negotiator, Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs, Florida International University, and Andrea Cancer, Commissioner and Todd Austin, Commissioner, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services, Co-Moderators.

Research Panel: Work Stoppage Across the Educational Continuum: K-12 to Higher Education with Jacob Apkarian, Associate Professor, Sociology, York College, CUNY and National Center Affiliated Researcher, Melissa Arnold Lyon, Assistant Professor of Public Policy Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, SUNY, Daniel Iskhakov, Graduate of Hunter College, CUNY, and Rhiannon M. Maton, Associate Professor, Foundations and Social Advocacy, SUNY Cortland and National Center Visiting Scholar, Panelist and Moderator.

Panel: Faculty Members’ Perceptions of the Impact of Unionization on Shared Governance with Brian Rossman, Associate Professor, Open Educational Resources (OER) and Scholarly Communication Librarian, Montana State University Library, Bozeman, Ernesto Longa, Professor of Law, The University of New Mexico School of Law, Commentator, Catherine Bond Hill, Managing Director, Ithaka S+R, and former President, Vassar College, Commentator, and Rotua Lumbantobing, Vice President, AAUP, Moderator.

Panel: Beyond the Table: Best Practices for Collaboration in the Implementation of Collective Bargaining Agreements with Kim C. O’Halloran, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Planning & Administration, University Academic Affairs, Rutgers University, Heather Pierce, Ph.D., Lecturer, Political Science, Contract Enforcement Chair, PTLFC-AAUP-AFT, Local 6324, Rutgers University, Kamil Robakiewicz, Senior Labor Relations Representative, College of Literature, Science and Arts, University of Michigan, and Kirsten Herold, President, LEO, AFT-MI Local 6244 (panel in formation).

Panel: Empowering Classified Staff: Advancing Equity and Mindfulness in Higher Education through Collective Bargaining with Anel Gonzalez, President, CCE/Local4522, Anthony Solis, CFT Field Representative, Lead Negotiator,

Carmelino Cruz, CCE Negotiator and Steward, Anna Pedroza, Vice President Human Resources, and John Rose, Dean, Diversity and Compliance, Hunter College, CUNY, Moderator.

Panel: Lessons from Negotiating: Selection of Bargaining Team Members and Dealing with Rogue Bargaining Team Members with Terry Calaway, Ed.D., President Emeritus, Johnson County Community College and Professor of Practice, Community College Leadership, Kansas State University, Andre’ L. Poplar, J.D., Vice Chancellor for Human Resources, Oakland Community College, Martin Balinsky, Ph.D., Professor, Tallahassee State College, President, United Faculty of Florida-Tallahassee State College and Vice-President, College Bargaining Council, and Deborah H. Williams, J.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Johnson County Community College, former JCCC Faculty Association President and Lead Negotiator, Moderator.

Panel: Demographics and the Doctorate: Predictors of Graduate Student Organizing at Research Universities with Lauren McGuire, M.P.P., Ph.D. Student, Educational Leadership, Policy, & Human Development, College of Education, North Carolina State University, Alissa G. Karl, Statewide Vice President for Academics, UUP, Commentator, Mike Miller, Director, UAW Region 6, Commentator, Marcelle Grair, Chief of Staff, SEIU Local 509, Commentator, and Alexandra (Sascha) Matish, Associate Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs and Senior Director, Academic Human Resources, University of Michigan, Moderator.

Panel: Graduate Unions as a Training Ground for Higher Education Collective Bargaining with Sikander Khare, UF-GAU Bargaining Chair, Cassandra “Cassie” Urbenz, UF-GAU Co-President, Lane Demaske, URI-GAU Grievance Chair, Danielle Dirocco, Higher Education Organizational Specialist, National Education Association, and Kate Birdsall, Director of Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs, Michigan State University, Moderator.

Panel: Sexual Harassment Adjudication in Graduate Student Employee Contracts with Tamiko Strickman, Special Advisor to the President and Executive Director, Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX Office, University of Michigan, Melissa Sortman, Assistant Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs, Michigan State University, and Karen R. Stubaus, National Center Visiting Scholar, former Vice President for Academic Affairs, Rutgers University, Moderator.

Panel: The New Wave of Campus Student Workers: The Historic Unionization of CSU Student Assistants with Joseph Jelincic, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Collective Bargaining, The California State University, Christina Checel, Associate Vice Chancellor for Labor and Employee Relations, The California State University, Jim Philliou, Executive Director, California State University Employees Union, SEIU Local 2579, Catherine Hutchinson, Statewide President, California State University Employees Union, SEIU Local 2579, Kaily Brooks, Student Leader, CSUEU San Diego State University, and J. Felix De La Torre, General Counsel, California Public Employment Relations Board, Moderator.

Panel: Negotiating over Tenure Procedures with Joseph P. McConnell, Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP, Jennifer Proffitt, Theodore Clevenger Professor in Communication, Co-Chief Negotiator, UFF-FSU, Florida State University, Herman A. Berliner, Provost Emeritus and University Service Distinguished Professor, Professor of Economics, Hofstra University, Maria Hegbloom, Field Representative Organizer, Massachusetts Teachers Association, and Timothy Connick, Chairperson, New York State Public Employment Relations Board, Moderator.

Panel: Funding of Higher Education over the Next Decade with Thomas L. Harnisch, Vice President for Government Relations, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), Kenneth E. Redd, Senior Director, Research and Policy Analysis, NACUBO, Matt Richmond, Education Finance Consultant, New America, and Frederick G. Floss, Professor, and Co-Director, Center for Economic Education, Buffalo State University, Panelist and Moderator.

52nd Annual National Conference Sponsors

Become a 52nd Annual Conference Sponsor or Program Advertiser

2025 Conference Sponsorships

To help support the National Center and its 52nd annual national conference, we encourage higher education institutions, unions, law firms, organizations, and companies to become a conference sponsor.

Through a conference sponsorship, you will demonstrate support for the National Center’s mission, programming, and research agenda.

Major Supporting Partner: $15,000

Benefits:

Complimentary registration for 3 attendees and a 50% reduction for a fourth;
Your organization’s logo and link to your site on the National Center website;
Opportunity to make introductory remarks at the plenary or mid-day greetings;
Your organization’s name referenced in our monthly newsletter;
Inclusion of a one-page display ad in the conference program;
Listing as a major supporting sponsor of the annual conference, webinars, and conference receptions.

Supporting Partner: $10,000

Benefits:

Complimentary registration for 2 attendees and a 50% reduction for a third;
Your organization’s logo and link to your site on the National Center website;
Your organization's name referenced in our monthly newsletter;
Inclusion of a one-page display ad in the conference program;
Listing as a supporting sponsor of the annual conference, webinars, and conference receptions.

Participating Sponsor: $5,000

Benefits:

Complimentary registration for one conference attendee;
Your organization’s logo and link to your site on the National Center website;
Your organization's name referenced in our monthly newsletter;
Inclusion of a half-page display ad in the conference program;
Listing as a participating sponsor of the annual conference, webinars, and conference breaks.

Basic Sponsor: $2,500

Benefits:

Complimentary registration for one conference attendee;
Listing as a sponsor on the National Center website;
Your organization’s name referenced in our monthly newsletter;
Inclusion of a one-quarter display ad in the conference program;
Listing as a basic sponsor of the annual conference, webinars, and conference breaks.

Introductory Sponsor: $1,500

Benefits:

Complimentary registration for one conference attendee;
Listing as a sponsor on the National Center website;
Your organization’s name referenced in our monthly newsletter;
Inclusion of a one-quarter display ad in the conference program;
Listing as an introductory sponsor of the annual conference, webinars, and conference breaks.

Friend of the National Center: $500

Benefits:

Complimentary registration for one conference attendee;
Listing of your name as a friend of the National Center on our website, newsletter, and in the conference program.

2025 Conference Program Advertisements

Another important way to celebrate the National Center’s 52nd conference and demonstrate support for our mission and research is for your institution, union, law firm, organization or company to place an advertisement in our 2025 conference program.

Full-page advertisement: $ 1,500

Half-page advertisement: $ 750

Quarter-page advertisement: $ 275

Please email us with any questions about sponsorships and advertisement purchases at: msavares@hunter.cuny.edu

Order Your Commemorative 52nd Annual Conference T-Shirt

Celebrate the 52nd Annual National Conference and and show your support for the our research and mission by purchasing the limited edition 52nd Annual Conference

t-shirt. The shirts are USA made, printed in a union shop, and 100% cotton.

T-shirts can be pre-ordered in advance of the conference and picked up during the event at the CUNY Graduate Center on Monday-Tuesday, March 24-25, 2025. Please note that the pre-ordered t-shirts will not be available for pick-up on Sunday, March 23rd at Roosevelt House.

To order your t-shirt, click here. Direct any questions to: msavares@hunter.cuny.edu

Download the National Center's Study on Anti-Discrimination Clauses in Higher Education Collective Bargaining Agreements

In November, the National Center released a study titled Anti-Discrimination Clauses in Higher Education Collective Bargaining Agreements.

Download the study here.

The study is based on research that led to the publication in September of our 2024 Directory of Bargaining Agents and Contracts in Higher Education.

The purpose of the study is to assist negotiators, labor representatives, and administrators in developing, amending, and implementing anti-bias contract provisions.

The study includes excerpted anti-discrimination text from 30 collective bargaining agreements negotiated by different nationally-affiliated unions and institutions at all levels of higher education from across the country involving tenured and tenure track faculty, non-tenure track faculty, postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers, and graduate student employees.

For each contract, the monograph includes the contract's anti-discrimination clause and the relevant negotiated procedure concerning enforcement when the contract does not permit, limits, or modifies the use of the standard grievance-arbitration procedure to enforce the anti-discrimination clause. In addition, the monograph includes a hyperlink to each contract to permit the contextualization of the excerpted provisions within the terms of the entire agreement.

KEY FINDINGS

While most anti-discrimination clauses explicitly prohibit discrimination based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, and union activity, there are wide differences with respect to other protected categories.

Over the course of time, anti-discrimination clauses have changed, reflecting the historical context during which they were negotiated. Examples of those changes over the years are prohibitions against discrimination based on civil union status, HIV status, and Vietnam-era veteran status.

Recent contract clauses have expanded protections against discrimination to include caste; citizenship status; immigration status; ancestry; marital or parental status; status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking; gender expression; gender identity; genetic information; height; weight; arrest record; military status; veteran status; or unfavorably discharged from military service. Only one contract has an anti-discrimination clause limited to prohibiting discrimination based on union activity.

Certain contracts expand upon sex as a protected category to explicitly address sexual harassment and sexual misconduct, as well as faculty-student relationships. The most detailed definitions of sexual harassment, with special procedures for investigating and remedying sexual harassment complaints under Title IX and anti-discrimination clauses, are in contracts involving postdoctoral scholars and graduate student employees.

A significant difference among the contracts is the agreed-upon means of enforcement. Some contracts permit discrimination claims to be processed under the regular grievance-arbitration procedure. Others modify those procedures for handling discrimination issues and some agreements exclude alleged violations of the anti-discrimination clause from the grievance process. Lastly, some parties have opted to condition the arbitration of a discrimination grievance on the employee waiving her or his rights to pursue statutory discrimination claims in court or other external forums.

Download the National Center's 2024 Directory of Bargaining Agents and

Contracts in Institutions of Higher Education

In September, the National Center published our 2024 Directory of Bargaining Agents and Contracts in institutions of Higher Education on the scope of higher education unionization involving faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate and undergraduate student employees.

The 2024 Directory includes data and analysis concerning over 900 collective bargaining relationships in higher education through January 1, 2024, and hyperlinks to 813 recent contracts in higher education. Click here to download 2024 Directory

KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS

The faculty union representation rate was 27% as of January 1, 2024, with a total of 402,217 unionized faculty across 29 states and the District of Columbia;
California, New York, and New Jersey have the highest number of unionized faculty;
The total number of unionized faculty grew by 7.5% since 2012;
Represented faculty at the private non-profit institutions grew by 56%, relative to a 4% growth in the public sector, since 2012;
As of January 1, 2024, there were 10 bargaining units of exclusively postdoctoral scholars with a total of 11,471 employees and two academic research units with a total of 6,132 employees.
The graduate student employee union representation rate was 38% at the beginning of 2024 with over 150,000 employees in 81 bargaining units;
Graduate student representation increased by 133% since 2012 with 60% of that growth at private non-profit higher education institutions;
As of January 1, 2024, there were 19 exclusively undergraduate student employee units, with a total of 3,515 represented employees.

CUNY: Supreme Court Denies Review in Challenge to Representation

Goldstein v. Professional Staff Congress/CUNY, U.S. Supreme Court, Case No.No. 24-71

On January 13, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued an order denying a petition for certiorari seeking review of a unanimous decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejecting a First Amendment challenge to exclusive representation under New York’s Public Employees’ Fair Employment Act, N.Y. Civ. Serv. Law §§ 200, et seq., frequently referred to as the Taylor Law.

The lawsuit had been filed by certain dissident non-members of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the union that represents CUNY’s full-time and part-time faculty and staff. In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs had charged that their First Amendment rights were being violated because the PSC takes political positions and collective bargaining stances that they disagree with. The plaintiffs had also challenged the 2018 modifications to the Taylor Law that limits a union’s duty of fair representation to non-members.

Notably, the Supreme Court's denial of review did not include a dissent, even from those Justices who were in the majority in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, 138 S. Ct. 2448 (2018). which overturned decades-old precedent to find mandatory agency shop fees to be unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

Maryland: Bills Introduced for Faculty, GSE, and PDS Unionization

A bill was introduced on January 24, 2025 in the Maryland Legislature to grant university full-time and part-time tenured, tenure track and non-tenure track faculty the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining. Under the legislation, faculty who are

contingent, contractual or temporary would be placed in a separate and distinct unit from other faculty.

The recently introduced legislation joins another pending bill in the Maryland Legislature that would extend collective bargaining rights to graduate assistants and post-doctoral scholars.

Similar bills were not passed in prior Maryland legislative sessions.

Dartmouth College: SEIU Withdraws Petition for Varsity Basketball Team

Trustees of Dartmouth College, NLRB Case No 01-RC-325633

On December 31, 2024, SEIU Local 560 withdrew its petition seeking to represent a bargaining unit of all basketball players on Dartmouth's men's varsity basketball team. SEIU Local 560 President Chris Peck stated to the press that: “By filing a request to withdraw our petition today, we seek to preserve the precedent set by this exceptional group of young people on the men’s varsity basketball team.”

SEIU Local 560 had been certified to represent the bargaining unit following a March 5, 2024 tally of ballots demonstrating that the basketball team voted 13-2 in favor of SEIU Local 560 representation.

The following was the at-issue bargaining unit:

All basketball players on the men’s varsity basketball team employed at the Employer’s Hanover, New Hampshire location, but excluding managers, guards, and professional employees and supervisors as defined in the Act.

At the time of the petition withdrawal, Dartmouth College had pending a request for review with the National Labor Relations Board challenging the Region 1 Director's decision, which had concluded that the players on the varsity basketball team were employees for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act.

Berea College.: CWA Withdraws Petition For Undergraduate Workers

Berea College, NLRB Case No. 09-RC-338094

According to a news report, the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, CLC (CWA) has withdrawn its representation petition with the NLRB seeking to represent a unit of 1,330 undergraduate student employees at Berea College in Kentucky. The withdrawal is approximately the fourth petition withdrawn involving a student workers since the November presidential election

The following was the proposed bargaining unit sought in the CWA petition:

Included: All undergraduate student employees.

Excluded: Supervisors, managers, guards, confidential employees and others excluded by the Act.

Brandeis Univ.: SEIU Certified to Represent Academic Administrator Unit

Brandeis University, NLRB Case No: 01-RC-353902

On January 14, 2025, SEIU Local 888 was certified by the NLRB to represent a bargaining unit of 160 academic and administrative staff at Brandeis University. The certification followed a January 3, 2025 tally of ballots which demonstrated that the academic and administrative staff voted 78-6 in favor of SEIU Local 888 representation.

The following is the description of the new academic and administrative staff bargaining unit at Brandeis University:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time administrative and research employees under the Office of the Provost, including non-supervisory academic administrators, academic advisors, academic records specialists, academic student advisors, accessibility specialists, application administrators, budget and operations administrators, communications specialists, data analysts I, data analysts II, data scientists I, department administrators, email marketing specialists, engagement and development specialists, events managers, finance and operations coordinators, grants administrators, grants and finance administrators, graphic data visualization designers, international student advisors, marketing and communications specialists, program administrator, non-supervisory program managers, program specialists, registrar degree audit specialists, registrar specialists, non-supervisory research associates I in social sciences, non-supervisory research associates II in social sciences, research computing specialists, special projects and grants administrators, senior accessibility specialists, senior analysts, senior communications specialists, senior department administrators, senior grants administrators, non-supervisory senior program administrators, senior project managers, senior research associates I in social sciences, senior research associates II in social sciences, senior system administrators, senior web developers, and web managers, non-supervisory communications and events administrators, department coordinators, events coordinators, exam accommodation coordinators, international student advisors, marketing and communications coordinators, marketing and communications specialists, pre-award grants administrators, program coordinators, project managers, research assistants in social sciences, research integrity administrators, senior academic administrators, senior department associates, senior grants administrators, senior program coordinators, studio art technicians, web developers;

Excluded: All assistant directors, department operations administrators, research assistants under Division of Sciences/Arts and Sciences; Research associates under Division of Sciences/Arts and Sciences, research technicians under Division of Sciences; employees working in the Brandeis Library, the Rose Art Museum, the Division of Student Affairs, including but not limited to Brandeis Counseling Center, Brandeis Health Center, Brandeis Hillel, Center for Spiritual Life, Community Living, Department of Athletics, Department of Orientation and First Year Experience, Department of Student Engagement, Department of Student Rights and Community Standards, Health and Wellness Promotion, Hiatt Career Center, Office of Graduate Affairs, Office of the VP for Student Affairs and the Prevention, Advocacy and Resource Center; the Office of Undergraduate Admissions; the Office of Faculty Affairs; the Office of Institutional Research; all temporary employees, confidential employees, managers, guards, and supervisors as defined under the Act.

Temple Univ. Hosp.: SEIU Certified to Represent Interns and Residents

Temple University Hospital, NLRB Case No. 04-RC-355207

On January 17, 2025, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 was certified by the NLRB to represent a bargaining unit of 652 interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows employed by Temple University Hospital.

The certification followed a tally of ballots on January 9, 2025, which demonstrated that the employees voted 425-11 in favor of Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 representation.

The following is the description of the new bargaining unit at Temple University Hospital:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time physician interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows (including in non-ACGME physicians’ programs) employed by Temple University Hospital, Inc. at Temple University Hospital – Main Campus, located at 3401 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA; Temple University Hospital – Episcopal Campus, located at 100 East Lehigh Avenue, Philadelphia, PA; and Temple University Hospital – Jeanes Campus, located at 7600 Central Avenue, Philadelphia, PA.

Excluded: All other employees; professional employees; interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows employed in the Pediatric Dentistry program; physician interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows employed at Temple Health – Chestnut Hill Hospital and Fox Chase Cancer Center – Temple Health; directors; managers; guards; and supervisors as defined in the Act. Others permitted to vote:

The parties agreed that full-time and regular part-time physician interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows (including in non-ACGME physicians’ programs) employed by Temple University Hospital, Inc. in the Podiatry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and Advanced Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery programs at Temple University Hospital – Main Campus, located at 3401 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA; Temple University Hospital – Episcopal Campus, located at 100 East Lehigh Avenue, Philadelphia, PA; and Temple University Hospital – Jeanes Campus, located at 7600 Central Avenue, Philadelphia, PA may vote in the election but their ballots will be challenged since their eligibility has not been resolved. No decision has been made regarding whether the individuals in these classifications or groups are included in, or excluded from, the bargaining unit. The eligibility or inclusion of these individuals will be resolved, if necessary, following the election.

Rhode Island Hosp.: SEIU Certified to Represent Interns & Residents

Rhode Island Hospital, NLRB Case No. 01-RC-354869

On January 16, 2025, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 was certified to represent a unit of 689 interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows who are employed at Rhode Island Hospital.

The certification followed a tally of ballots on January 7, 2025 in a representation election conducted by the NLRB, which demonstrated that the employees voted 464-27 in favor of Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 representation.

The following is a description of the newly certified interns and residents unit at Rhode Island Hospital:

Included: All interns, residents, chief residents, and physician fellows (collectively “House Staff”) employed by Rhode Island Hospital.

Excluded: All other physicians, business office clerical employees, all other professional employees, registered nurses, service employees, skilled maintenance employees, confidential employees, managers, guards and supervisors as defined by the Act.

Albert Einstein Health Network: SEIU Certified to Represent

Interns and Residents Bargaining Unit

Albert Einstein Health Network, NLRB Case No. 04-RC-355201

On January 16, 2025, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957, was certified by the NLRB to represent a bargaining unit of 569 interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows employed by the Albert Einstein Health Network.

The certification followed the January 7, 2025 tally of ballots in a representation election conducted by the NLRB, which demonstrated that the employees voted 356-35 in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957.

The following is the description of the at-issue bargaining unit at the Albert Einstein Health Network:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows employed by Albert Einstein Healthcare Network and working at or out of Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital located at 5501 Old York Road, Philadelphia, PA or working at or out of Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital located at 559 W. Germantown Pike, East Norriton, PA.

Excluded: All other employees, chief residents who have completed the educational requirements of the residency program, pharmacy residents, directors, managers, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.

Others permitted to vote: The parties have agreed that Interns, Residents, Chief Residents and Fellows in dentistry, orthodontics and podiatry may vote in the election, but their ballots will be challenged since their eligibility has not been resolved. No decision has been made regarding whether the individuals in this classification or group are included in, or excluded from, the bargaining unit. The eligibility or inclusion of these individuals will be resolved, if necessary, following the election.

Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island: SEIU Certified to Represent Interns and Residents Bargaining Unit

Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, NLRB Case No 01-RC-355114

On January 24, 2025, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 was certifie d to represent a bargaining unit of 64 full-time and regular part-time interns, residents, chief residents, and physician fellows at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.

The certification followed the January 15, 2025 tally of ballots by the NLRB, which demonstrated that the employees voted 40-8 in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957.

The following is the description of the new bargaining unit at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time interns, residents, chief residents, and physician fellows (collectively “House Staff”) employed by Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital: SEIU Certified to Represent Interns and Residents Bargaining Unit

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, a subsidiary of Thomas Jefferson University Health System, NLRB Case No. 04-RC-355203

On January 22, 2025, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 was certified by the NLRB to represent a bargaining unit of 861 interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows employed by Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

The certification followed the January 13, 2025 tally of ballots by the NLRB, which demonstrated the employees voted 552-73 in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957.

The following is the description of the new bargaining unit at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows employed by the Employer and assigned to work primarily from its Thomas Jefferson University Hospital facility in Philadelphia, PA.

Excluded: All other employees, employees assigned to work primarily at the Nemours Children’s Hospital facility, chief residents who have completed the educational requirements of the residency program, pharmacy residents, directors, managers, and supervisors as defined in the Act.

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc.: SEIU Certified to Represent Interns and Residents Bargaining Unit in Wilmington, Delaware

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc., (at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware) NLRB Case No 04-RC-355672

On January 24, 2025, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 was certified to represent a bargaining unit of 98 interns and residents assigned to work primarily at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. The certification followed a January 15, 2025 tally of ballots in a representation election, which demonstrated that the employees voted 69-5 in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957.

The following is a description of the new bargaining unit at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals Inc. in Wilmington, Delaware:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time interns, fellows, and residents employed by the Employer and assigned to work primarily at Nemours Children’s Hospital, located at 1600 Rockland Road, Wilmington, DE.

Excluded: All other employees, professional employees, chief residents who have completed the educational requirements of the program, directors, managers, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. Others permitted to vote:

The parties have agreed that full-time and regular part-time neonatology fellows may vote in the election, but their ballots will be challenged since their eligibility has not been resolved. No decision has been made regarding whether the individuals in these classifications or groups are included in, or excluded from, the bargaining unit. The eligibility or inclusion of these individuals will be resolved, if necessary, following the election.

Christiana Care Health Services: SEIU Certified to Represent

Interns and Residents Bargaining Unit

Christiana Care Health Services, NLRB Case No. 04-RC-355200

On January 23, 2025, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 was certified to represent a bargaining unit of 280 interns, residents, chief resident, and fellows employed by ChristianaCare Health Systems in Wilmington, Delaware.

The certification followed a January 14, 2025 tally of ballots by the NLRB demonstrating that the employees voted 111-52 in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957.

The following is the description of the new bargaining unit at Christiana Care Health Services:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time physician interns and residents employed by Christiana Care Health Services, Inc. (“ChristianaCare”) except as excluded below.

Excluded: All interns, fellows and/or residents who perform services at ChristianaCare but are employed by another health system, all non-physician residents, fellows and/or interns (including dentistry and podiatry residents, interns and fellows), all other employees, professional employees, physicians, contracted physicians (physicians employed by an organization other than Christiana Care Health Services, Inc. to provide services for ChristianaCare), managerial employees, confidential employees, temporary employees/employees employed for a fixed duration, clerical employees, guards and supervisors as defined in the National Labor Relations Act.

Others permitted to vote: The parties have agreed that all physician fellows and physician chief residents employed at Christiana Hospital, located at 4755 Ogletown-Stanton Road, Newark, Delaware, and Wilmington Hospital, located at 501 West 14th Street, Wilmington, Delaware, may vote in the election but their ballots will be challenged since their eligibility has not been resolved. No decision has been made regarding whether the individuals in these classifications or groups are included in, or excluded from, the bargaining unit. The eligibility or inclusion of these individuals will be resolved, if necessary, following the election.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Interns and Residents

Reject SEIU Representation

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, NLRB Case No. 04-RC-355206

On January 2, 2025, the petition by the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 to represent a bargaining unit of 499 interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows employed by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was dismissed by the NLRB.

The dismissal followed the tallying of ballots in a representation election conducted by the NLRB on December 20, 2024, which demonstrated that the employees voted 195-178 against Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 representation

The following is the description of the at-issue bargaining unit:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time interns, fellows and residents employed by the Employer at its facility located at 3401 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Excluded: All other employees, Pediatric Chief Residents, Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatric Chief Resident(s), directors, managers, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.

Butler Hospital: SEIU Certified to Represent Interns & Residents Unit

Butler Hospital, NLRB Case No. 01-RC-355112

On January 15, 2024, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 was certified by the NLRB to represent a unit of 41 interns, residents, chief residents, and physician fellows employed by Butler Hospital.

The certification followed the tallying of ballots in a representation election conducted by the NLRB, which demonstrated that the employees voted 33-3 in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957.

The following is a description of the new bargaining unit at Butler Hospital:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time interns, residents, chief residents, and physician fellows (collectively “House Staff”) employed by Butler Hospital.

Kent County Memorial Hospital: SEIU Certified to Represent

Interns and Residents Bargaining Unit

Kent County Memorial Hospital, NLRB Case No. 01-RC-355123

On January 24, 2025, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 was certified to represent a unit of 125 interns, residents, chief residents, and physician fellows employed at the Kent County Memorial Hospital in Warwick, Rhode Island.

The certification followed the January 15, 2025 tally of ballots by the NLRB, which demonstrated that the employees voted 41-28 in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957.

The following is a description of the new bargaining unit at Kent County Memorial Hospital:

Included: All full-time and part-time interns, residents, chief residents, and physician fellows (collectively "House Staff" employed by Kent County Memorial Hospital.

Museum Cultural Workers Vote to Unionize in New York and Maryland

The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum NLRB Case No.: 29-RC-355796

On January 22, 2025, the NLRB certified the Technical Office and Professional Union, Local 2110 UAW, AFL-CIO to represent a unit of 48 full-time and part-time employees at the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum on Vernon Boulevard across from Rainey Park in Long Island City. The certification followed the January 11, 2025 tally of ballots in an NLRB representation, which showed that the museum workers voted 39-0 in favor of UAW representation.

Baltimore Museum of Industry, NLRB Case No. 05-RC-356130

On January 23, 2025, Teamsters Local 570 was certified by the NLRB to represent a unit of 29 museum educators, facilities staff, visitors' services, associate marketing and other workers at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. The certification followed a representation election in which the tally of ballots demonstrated that the employees voted 14-8 in favor of Teamsters Local 570 representation

Books by 2025 Conference Panelists

On Sunday, March 23, 2025 Gary Rhoades, Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona and author of Organizing Professionals: Academic Employees Negotiating a New Academy Rutgers University Press (2025) will present on his new book and there will be a book signing following the presentation.

On Monday, March 25, 2025 Jelani Favors, Henry E. Frye Distinguished Professor, Department of History and Political Science and Director, Center of Excellence for Social Justice, North Carolina A&T State University will be discussing his book Shelter in a Time of Storm: How Black Colleges Fostered Generations of Leadership and Activism, UNC Press (2019).

On Monday, March 25, 2025 Ellen Schrecker, Professor of History (retired), Yeshiva University, will be discussing the findings in two recent books: The Right to Learn: Resisting the Right-Wing Attack on Academic Freedom, Beacon Press (2024) and The Lost Promise: American Universities in the 1960 s, University of Chicago Press (2021).

Submit Articles to the Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

The Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy is a publication of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions. It is an open-access, peer-reviewed, online periodical advancing research and scholarly thought related to collective bargaining in higher education, and making relevant and pragmatic peer-reviewed research readily accessible.

The Journal is now accepting submissions for Volume 16 to be published in March 2025. Our authors customarily include college and university faculty and administrators, scholars, graduate students, union activists and leaders, and others interested in collective bargaining in higher education.

Our Journal editors are particularly interested in submissions for Volume 16 dealing with the following subjects: artificial intelligence and collective bargaining; social justice issues as negotiable subjects; Title IX compliance in the context of legal challenges; graduate and undergraduate student unionization and bargaining; ombudsperson offices co-existing or conflicting with academic labor; and other important issues in today’s fast-changing and growing campus collective bargaining world.

Please see the Aims & Scope page for more information or contact the editors with any questions on possible submissions.

Journal editors are Gary Rhoades, University of Arizona, Karen Stubaus, National Center Visiting Scholar and former Vice President for Academic Affairs at Rutgers University, and Jacob Apkarian, York College, City University of New York. It is supported in part by a generous contribution from TIAA and is hosted by the institutional repository of Eastern Illinois University, The Keep, a service of EIU's Booth Library.

Volume 15 of the Journal, which was published earlier this year, was titled "Learning From and Building on Collective Bargaining's Foundations and Experience." Below are links to articles that appeared in that volume:

Op-Ed

Collective Bargaining Among Undergraduate Students by Daniel J. Julius and Nicholas DiGiovanni Jr.

Articles

The Persistence of Separate and Unequal: Debunking Myths of the Market in Bargaining for Faculty Gender Salary Equity by Johanna E. Foster and Jen McGovern

The Role of the Chief Negotiator in Academic Collective Bargaining by Nicholas DiGiovanni Jr.

The 50 Year History of Collective Bargaining at Hofstra University by Herman A. Berliner, Peter C. Daniel, Bernard J. Firestone, Estelle S. Gellman, Elizabeth J. Ploran, and Liora P. Schmelkin

Analyzing the Upward Trend in Academic Unionization: Drivers and Influences

by Andrea Clemons

Practitioner Perspectives

TAUP's 50-Year Collective Bargaining Story by Arthur Hochner

Some Thoughts of Faculty Strikes by Margaret E. Winters and William Connellan

National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining

in Higher Education and the Professions

msavares@hunter.cuny.edu

http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/ncscbhep

Hunter College, City University of New York

New York, NY 10065