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NATIONAL CENTER
for the
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tudy of
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ollective
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argaining in
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igher
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ducation and the
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rofessions
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Follow us on Twitter @HigherEd_CB
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Call for Papers, Presentations, and Workshops for 2018 Conference
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45th Annual Conference in NYC: April 15-17, 2018
The National Center has issued a
Call for Papers inviting scholars and practitioners from multiple disciplines to submit abstracts of proposed papers, panels, and interactive workshops for the National Center's 45th annual conference that will take place on April 15-17, 2018.
Abstracts need to be uploaded to dropbox
here by
September 8, 2017.
We welcome proposals by authors of recently published books who wish to present their scholarship relevant to higher education, unionization, collective bargaining, labor relations, and/or labor history.
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National Center Regional Conference in Long Beach on Dec. 1-2, 2017
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On December 1-2, 2017, the National Center will be holding a regional conference at California State University, Long Beach. On-line registration will begin in September.
Among the topics to be examined at the regional conference:
The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Higher Education
Unionization and Bargaining Regarding Adjunct Faculty
Current Labor-Management Issues for College Classified Staff
Strategies and Challenges in Higher Education Funding
Current Labor-Management Issues at Community Colleges
Workshop Training: Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations for
Administrators and Labor Representatives
For more information about the regional conference contact the National Center at [email protected].
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Program on the Taylor Law at 50: September 26, 2017 at Hunter College
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On September 26, 2017, Hunter College will be hosting a public policy program at Roosevelt House in New York City examining New York's Taylor Law.
The program is being sponsored by the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, the National Center, and the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies. The program will include panels examining the Taylor Law in historical context, and exploring the future of public sector unionization and collective bargaining. Registration for this program will begin in late August.
Participants will include:
William A. Herbert, Distinguished Lecturer, Hunter College, and Executive Director, National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions
John Wirenius, Chairperson, New York State Public Employment Relations Board
Joshua B. Freeman, Distinguished Professor, CUNY Graduate Center and Queens College
Martin H. Malin, Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for Law and the Workplace, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Joseph A. McCartin, Professor, Georgetown University and Executive Director, Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor
Kimberly Phillips-Fein, Associate Professor, Gallatin School, New York University
Marilyn Sneiderman, Professor and Director, Center for Innovation in Worker
Organization, Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations
Ben Gordon, National Staff, Metro IAF and former CSEA Director of Organizing
Alan Lubin, Vice President Emeritus, New York State United Teachers
Terry Melvin, President, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and NYS AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer
Ashwini Sukthankar, Secretary/Treasurer, International Commission for Labor Rights
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Robert Morris Univ.: First Contract Reached with USW for Adjunct Unit
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On June 5, 2017, the first contract between USW and Robert Morris University for a unit of approximately 430 adjunct faculty was ratified. USW was certified to represent the faculty unit on March 17, 2015.
The contract is for the period June 5, 2017-August 1, 2020, and includes provisions that improve adjunct faculty compensation, job security, due process, academic freedom, evaluation procedures, leave benefits, and establishes a grievance procedure that ends in binding arbitration.
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NJIT: Agreement Reached with FT Unit Concerning Adjunct Teaching
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As reported in the June E-Note, the New Jersey Institute of Technology voluntarily recognized the United Council of Academics at NJIT, Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters, AAUP-AFT, AFL-CIO, to represent a unit of approximately 368 adjunct faculty. Under the parties' agreement, voluntary recognition was conditioned on the union disclaiming interest in representing full-time faculty and instructional employees in their adjunct capacity.
We recently learned that on May 3, 2017 NJIT entered into a separate agreement with the Professional Staff Association, Inc./AAUP (PSA) recognizing PSA as the exclusive representative "for all full-time faculty and instructional staff otherwise included in the PSA's negotiations unit in their full-time capacities, in connection with any instructional services they are employed to perform for NJIT in an adjunct capacity." The parties agreed to engage in good faith bargaining about the terms and conditions governing the additional teaching services provided by full-time faculty and instructional staff.
The NJIT-PSA agreement also provides that it is not "intended to alter the University's policy that tenure and tenure-track faculty do not engage in adjunct teaching assignments during the academic year unless provided by exception through the appropriate authorization from the academic administration."
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First Contracts at Ithaca, Duke, and Notre Dame de Namur University
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Ithaca College has posted on its website the tentative first contracts reached with SEIU for the full-time adjunct faculty bargaining unit and the part-time adjunct faculty bargaining unit.
According to a news report, SEIU has reached a tentative agreement for a three-year first contract with Duke University with respect to the adjunct faculty bargaining unit at that institution.
Lastly, Inside Higher Ed's Colleen Flaherty recently published an article describing the terms of a tentative agreement reached between SEIU and Notre Dame de Namur University with the negotiated terms and conditions of employment for tenure track and non-tenure track faculty.
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St. Catherine's Univ.: PT Adjuncts Vote in Favor of SEIU Representation
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St. Catherine University, NLRB Case No. 18-RC-199024
On July 10 2017, NLRB Region 18 commingled and tallied the ballots in an election concerning SEIU petition seeking to represent part-time adjunct faculty at St. Catherine University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Of the 296 faculty members in the bargaining unit, 105 voted in favor of SEIU representation, 96 voted against with an additional 15 challenged ballots.
The following is the at-issue adjunct faculty unit at St. Catherine's University:
Included: All part-time regular faculty who teach undergraduate or graduate-level credit earning courses or labs who are non-tenure track faculty (including but not limited to the following titles:adjunct instructor, adjunct lecturer, adjunct professor, adjunct faculty, lecturer or instructor) teaching at St. Catherine University, located at 2004 Randolph Ave, St Paul, MN 55105, 601 25th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55454, and online, who were employed by the Employer during the payroll period ending May 19, 2017. Also eligible to vote are those in the unit who teach or taught at least one lab or credit-earning class in the Fall 2016 semester, January 2017 term, or the Spring 2017 semester.
Excluded: All administrators (including Deans, Assistant Deans, Associate Deans,
Directors, Associate Directors, Assistant Directors, Provosts, Associate Provosts, Vice Presidents, Chairs, and Administrators, whether or not they have teaching assignments); any faculty member who holds an FTE position, visiting faculty, adjunct advisors, full-time tenured and non-tenured track faculty; Graduate Students (including those teaching courses in addition to being paid a stipend); all other employees at St. Catherine University (including those who teach a class or course and are separately compensated for such teaching); managers, confidential employees, office clerical employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined by the Act, as amended.
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Chart Detailing Student Employee Unionization (2016-June 30, 2017)
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Institution
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Affiliation
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Status
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Portland State University
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AFT-AAUP
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Certification Without an Election
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Yale University
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UNITE-HERE
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Certification: History of Art Dept Tally 17-2; Cert. Under Challenge
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Yale University
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UNITE-HERE
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Certification: History Department
Tally 39-7; Cert. Under Challenge
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Yale University
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UNITE-HERE
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Certification: English Department
Tally 22-4; Cert. Under Challenge
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Yale University
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UNITE-HERE
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Certification: Mathematics Dept.
Tally 8-3; Cert. Under Challenge
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Yale University
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UNITE-HERE
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Certification: Sociology Dept
Tally 12-5; Cert. Under Challenge
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Yale University
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UNITE-HERE
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Certification:Geology & Geophysics Dept. Tally 9-7; Cert. Under Challenge
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Yale University
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UNITE-HERE
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Certification: Political Science Dept. Tally 19-14; Cert. Under Challenge
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Yale University
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UNITE-HERE
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Certification: East Asian Lang. Dept.
Tally 5-1; Cert. Under Challenge
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Columbia University
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UAW
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Certification, Tally 1602-623, Cert. Under Challenge
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Cornell University
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AFT-NEA
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Non-NLRB Election Held; Challenges to Ballots Pending
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Harvard University
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UAW
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NLRB Election Held: Challenges to Ballots and Election Conduct Pending
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Tufts University
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SEIU
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Certification: Tally 129-34
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Brandeis University
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SEIU
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Certification: Tally 88-34
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American University
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SEIU
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Certification: Tally 212-40
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Loyola University Chicago
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SEIU
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Certification: Tally 71-49, Cert. Under Challenge
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Duke University
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SEIU
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Petition Withdrawn: Tally 398-691
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New School
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UAW
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NLRB Election Held: Tally Stayed Pending Request for Review
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University of Chicago
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AFT-AAUP
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GSE Petition Pending
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University of Chicago
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IBT
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Library Student Employees; Election Held, Tally 67-13, Objections Pending
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Pennsylvania State Univ.
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NEA
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Petition Pending
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Boston College
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UAW
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Petition Pending
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Univ. of Pennsylvania.
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AFT
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Petition Pending
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University of Missouri
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NEA
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State Constitutional Claim Pending
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Yale University
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UNITE-HERE
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Dismissal: Physics Department
Tally 26-30
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Grinnell College
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IND
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Student Dining Staff, Certification: Tally 21-1
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George Wash. Univ.
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SEIU
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Petition Withdrawn for Resident Advisors
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New School: Request for Review Denial Should Lead to Election Tally
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The New School, NLRB Case No. 02-RC-143009
The National Labor Relations Board issued a
decision on July 6, 2017 denying the New School's
Request for Review from a
Second Supplemental Decision and Direction of Election
issued by NLRB Region 2 Director Karen P. Fernbach on April 7, 2017 ordering an on-site election on May 3 and 4, 2017 concerning the UAW's petition to represent student employees at the New School. Although the election proceeded as scheduled, the tally of ballots was stayed pending the outcome of the New School's Request for Review.
It is anticipated that as a result of NLRB's July 6, 2017 decision, NLRB Region 2 will now tally the ballots by the New School's student employees.
In her April 7, 2017 decision, Region Director Fernbach found the following bargaining unit to be appropriate:
Included: All student employees who provide teaching, instructionally-related or research services, including Teaching Assistants (Course Assistants, Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Student Assistants 3 at the Parsons School, and Tutors) and Research Assistants (Research Assistants and Research Associates).
Excluded: All other employees, Student Assistants at schools other than Parsons, guards and supervisors as defined by the Act.
Region Director Fernbach also found the following employees to be eligible to vote:
1) All currently enrolled Course Assistants, Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Student Assistants 3 at the Parsons School, Research Assistants, Research Associates, compensated through a stipend, that received an assignment in any of the following semesters: Spring 2016, Summer 2016, Fall 2016, or Spring 2017; and
(2) All currently enrolled Tutors, and any other unit employees compensated only on an hourly basis, that have received an assignment for which at least 60 hours was worked in any of the following semesters: Spring 2016, Summer 2016, Fall 2016, or Spring 2017.
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Loyola Univ. Chicago: NLRB Denies Request for Review in GSE Case
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Loyola University Chicago NLRB Case No. 13-RC-189548
The National Labor Relations Board issued a
decision on July 6, 2017 denying Loyola University Chicago's
Request for Review that sought to challenge the NLRB's assertion of jurisdiction over a representation petition filed by SEIU seeking to represent a union of graduate student employees.
Following a representation election, in which graduate student employees voted 71-49 in favor of unionization, SEIU was certified on February 17, 2017, to represent the following GSE bargaining unit at Loyola University Chicago:
Included: All full-time and regular part-time Graduate Assistants consisting of PhD and Masters Students who serve as Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, Program Assistants, and Fellowship Teachers in the Graduate School and matriculating in degree programs in the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago's Lakeshore and Water Tower campuses.
Excluded: All full-time and regular part-time Graduate Assistants in the Theology Department, all other employees, guards, professional employees and supervisors as defined by the Act.
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Texas Tech.: First Amendment Claim by Tenure Critic Reinstated
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Wetherbe v. Texas Tech University System, No. 16-10458 (5th Cir. 2017)
On June 23, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision reinstating a First Amendment retaliation claim brought by James C. Wetherbe, a business professor at Texas Tech University's Rawls College of Business. The lawsuit claims that Professor Wetherbe was refused consideration for a deanship and a special professorship because he lacks tenure, and is an outspoken opponent of tenure as demonstrated by his statements in published articles and interviews.
The federal appellate court found that his complaint alleged sufficient facts, which if proven, would establish that Wetherbe's anti-tenure advocacy touched upon a matter of public concern. The case was remanded to the trial court to determine the merits of his retaliation claim under First Amendment precedent that requires a balancing of the respective interests of Wetherbe and the public university.
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Harold Washington College: EEOC Age Discrimination Lawsuit Settled
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On June 14, 2017, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
announced the settlement of an age discrimination lawsuit under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) against Harold Washington College for refusing to promote adjunct faculty member Nancy Sullivan to a full-time position.
According to the EEOC press release, "Sullivan had worked as an adjunct professor in the English department for five years before applying for the full-time faculty position. Despite her stellar record as an adjunct and excellent recommendations from several full-time faculty members, Sullivan was passed over in favor of two substantially younger and less experienced candidates..."
Under the terms of the consent decree signed by United States District Court Judge Sara Ellis, the college will pay Sullivan $60,000 in damages. The consent decree includes an injunction against the college and its officers "from engaging in any employment practice prohibited by the ADEA, including but not limited to: (1) failing or refusing to hire an individual age 40 or older because of age; and (2) engaging in any form of retaliation against any person because such person has opposed any practice prohibited by the ADEA, filed a charge of discrimination under the ADEA, testified or participated in any manner in any investigation, proceeding, or hearing under the ADEA, or asserted any rights under this Decree."
The decree also requires the college to maintain a policy against employment discrimination, and to conduct training of the college's English Department Executive Committee, and others involved in the hiring of full-time tenure-track faculty in the English Department.
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Univ. of Penn.: Lab. Animals Resources Staff Vote Down Unionization
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On June 14, 2017, NLRB tallied the ballots in a representation case filed by AFSCME seeking to represent full-time and part-time staff at the University of Pennsylvania's Laboratory Animals Resources Department. In a bargaining unit of 128 employees, 78 voted against union representation and 40 voted in favor. The representation petition was dismissed based on the result of the election.
The following is the at-issue unit:
Included: All full-time and regular part-time employees employed by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in the Husbandry Operations Division of the University Laboratory Animals Resources (ULAR) Department in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the following job classifications: Lab Animal Assistant, Tech Assistant Lab Animal, Tech Lab Animal, Technologist Lab Animal, Tech Cagewash A, Tech Cagewash B, and Tech Cagewash Lead.
Excluded: All other employees, including professional employees, managers, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.
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Lehigh University: Campus Police Vote Down Unionization
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On June 19, 2017, NLRB tallied the ballots in a representation case filed by the International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America seeking to represent full-time and part-time police officers at Lehigh University.
In a bargaining unit of 24 employees, 17 voted against union representation and 5 voted in favor. The representation petition was dismissed based on the result of the election.
The following is the at-issue unit:
Included: All full-time and regular part-time police officers, security guards and dispatchers employed by Lehigh University at its Bethlehem, Pennsylvania campus.
Excluded: All other employees, including office clerical employees, professional employees, corporals, lieutenants and supervisors as defined in the Act.
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Chapman University: Petition Filed for Theatrical Stagehand Employees
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Included: All full-time, regular part-time, regular temporary technical theatrical stagehand employees, employed by Musco Center for the Arts, located at One University Drive in Orange, California, including but not limited to any employee who (a) handles stage or theatrical accessories, wardrobe, scenery, prope1iies, screens, drops, travelers, masking, platforms, risers, turntables, traps, lifts, rigging, rope access, stage floors, railings, theatrical scaffolding, and the like; (b) loads or unloads trucks or other vehicles used to take any theatrical or stage electrical, video or sound equipment, scenery, stage materials, properties, chairs, stands, racks, musical instruments or other like items pertaining to the Center in or out of the premises; or (c) loads in, installs, programs, operates, loads out any other electrical, electronic, mechanical and/or electromechanical, video or audio recording, projection, archival equipment or devices which interface with or control theatrical equipment at any indoor or outdoor stage, venue or studio at the Musco Center.
Excluded: All other employees, guards, supervisors as defined in the NLRA.
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Podcasts from the 2017 National Center Annual Conference
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The National Center is pleased to announce the availability of five podcasts from presentations given at our 2017 annual conference in New York City. We encourage you to share the podcasts with your colleagues.
The podcasts are available thanks to the speakers, sponsors, attendees, staff, and volunteers who made our 2017 conference a major success.
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The 2017 conference was underwritten with a TIAA grant.
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Podcast: The Impact of Anti-Intellectualism on the State of Higher Ed
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The Impact of Anti-Intellectualism on the State of Higher Education
(ccw) Susan Jacoby, author,
The Age of American Unreason, Frederick P. Schaffer, Chair, New York City Campaign Finance Board, Hank Reichman, AAUP Vice President, and Lynn Pasquerella, President, Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Podcast Part 1;
Podcast Part 2;
Podcast Part 3
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Podcast: Graduate Student Employee Collective Bargaining
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Graduate Student Employees: Collective Bargaining After the NLRB's Columbia University Decision (l-r) Melissa Korn, Wall Street Journal, Joe Ambash, Fisher & Phillips, Daniel Julius, Senior VP and Provost, NJ City University, Wilma Liebman, former NLRB Chair, and Julie Kushner, UAW Region 9A Director.
Podcast
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Podcast: Current Issues at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
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Current Issues at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (l-r) Ronald Mason, Jr., University of District of Columbia President, John Brittain, Law Professor, UDC, David A. Clarke School of Law, Felecia Commodore, Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University, and Elizabeth K. Davenport, FL A&M University, UFF/AFT/NEA President. Podcast
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Podcast: Overtime Compensation and Pay Equity in Higher Education
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Overtime Compensation and Pay Equity in Higher Education (back) Mark Smith, NEA Higher Education Policy Analyst, (front l-r) Rosemary DiSavino, EEOC Senior Trial Attorney, Deborah Bell, PSC Executive Director, Maria Maisto, New Faculty Majority President, and John S. Ho, Cozen O'Connor. Podcast Part 1; Podcast Part 2
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Podcast: Lincoln, Labor, and Race
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Lincoln, Labor, and Race (l-r) James Oakes, Distinguished Professor, CUNY Graduate Center, Harold Holzer, Jonathan F. Fanton Director, Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, Hunter College, and Edna Greene Medford, Chair, Howard University Department of History. Podcast
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Labor and Employment Law Conference in Anaheim on July 19, 2017
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On July 19, 2017, NLRB Region 21 and Region 31 will present the
35th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference in Anaheim, California. The conference is being organized in cooperation with the Orange County Labor and Employment Relations Association and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services.
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Annual GSE Conference Scheduled for Aug. 11-13 in London, Ontario
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On August 11, 2017, the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions and the Coalition Des Syndicats D'Employees Etudiantes will be holding its annual
conference at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. This year's conference of graduate student employees in North America is being hosted by PSAC Local 610. Click
here for registration and information on accommodations.
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Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy
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The
Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy (JCBA) is the National Center's peer review journal co-edited by Jeffrey Cross, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Eastern Illinois University, and Steve Hicks, Professor of English, Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.
We encourage scholars, practitioners, and graduate students in the fields of collective bargaining, labor representation, labor relations, and labor history to submit articles for potential publication in future JCBA volumes.
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Job Posting: Director, Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations
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The Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations (DLR) is responsible for promoting stable, productive, and cooperative relationships between public employers and their represented employees by administering and enforcing the Commonwealth's collective bargaining laws.
DLR is searching for a Director who would be responsible for managing, leading and motivating employees engaged in: investigating, mediating, deciding and litigating all public sector unfair labor practice cases; defining appropriate bargaining units and conducting elections in which public employees may choose whether and which employee organization they want to represent them in collective bargaining; providing mediation, fact-finding and arbitration services to assist public employers and employee representatives in resolving labor disputes and contract negotiations; enforcing special collective bargaining laws related to municipal police and firefighters; and litigating related cases in the courts.
Other essential functions of the position include, but not limited to:
- Managing the agency's overall case docket to ensure compliance with case management guidelines while ensuring balanced staff workloads;
- Establishing and adhering to an annual budget, monitoring fee revenue and expenditures by conducting a regular analysis of all operational and financial matters;
- Establishing an agency strategic plan and designing, developing and implementing new or revised practices and/or technology to operationalize plan objectives;
- Hiring all staff, setting performance standards and evaluating staff performance; establishing all staff training programs;
- Promulgating regulations as required;
- Handling complex contract and unfair labor practice mediations.
The successful applicant must be familiar with the DLR, Joint Labor Management Committee (JLMC), and the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board (CERB) purpose and structure, and should have prior hands-on experience with labor relations, preferably public sector labor relations, (e.g. participating in contract negotiations, mediations, and arbitrations, structuring bargaining units, processing grievances and/or unfair labor practices in addition to demonstrated management experience.
To apply, go to the Mass Careers website at:
and search for keyword DLR or link to the offer here.
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National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions
425 E 25th St.
Box 615
New York, NY 10010
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Copyright © 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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