We encourage institutions, unions, law firms, and individuals to donate to help support the National Center’s research and programming.

May 2024 Newsletter

In this month’s newsletter, we include a link to the Call for Proposals for the National Center's 2025 annual conference in New York City along with photographs and links to video recordings of certain panel discussions from our 2024 annual conference.

In addition, the newsletter reports on recent administrative cases concerning the negotiability over proposed changes to Title IX policies by the University of Hawai’i, the failure of Northeastern University to negotiate in good faith with a police union, and an unfair practice charge filed by the University of California challenging a strike authorization by UAW concerning its four bargaining units.

We also report on recently filed representation petitions concerning visiting non-tenure track faculty at Loyola Marymount University, full-time faculty at Hagerstown Community College in Maryland, postdoctoral scholars and researchers at the University of Southern California, graduate student employees at Wesleyan University, professional staff at American University, and physicians employed by the University of Maryland Medical Center and ChristianaCare in Delaware. With respect to undergraduate student employees, we report on the withdrawal of a representation petition that had been filed by OPEIU Local 153

Regarding recent representation election outcomes, the newsletter reports on votes in favor of union representation by postdoctoral scholars at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Princeton University, by graduate student employees at the University of Pennsylvania, by interns and residents at the University of Chicago Medical Center and at Kaiser Permanente. It also reports on votes against representation by graduate student employees at Princeton University and employees of Buffalo AKG Art Museum and a scheduled election concerning a unit of interns and residents at Detroit Education & Research. 

Lastly, the newsletter includes links to articles in the current volume of our Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy and a job posting for a part-time research position at the National Center.

Call for Proposals for 2025 National Center Annual Conference

The National Center has issued a Call for Proposals for our 52nd annual conference that will take place on March 23-25, 2025 in New York City. The theme of next year's conference will be New Developments and Training in Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions.

We welcome proposals for diverse panels or interactive workshops that include both labor and administrator representatives to discuss subjects relevant to higher education and the professions including unionization, collective bargaining, and labor relations. We strongly encourage proposals that include newer and diverse scholars, administrators, and labor representatives. Proposals are due on or before August 30, 2024.

Below are pictures of panels, presenters, staff, and volunteers from our 2024 annual conference, which was held on March 17-19, 2024.in New York City.

Higher Education Leadership Panel with (l-r) Rick Schaffer, former CUNY General Counsel, Ann Kirschner, Hunter College Interim President, Daniel Greenstein, PASSHE Chancellor and Catharine Bond Hill, Ithaka S+R, Managing Director.

Keynote Speaker:

Thomas A. Kochan, George Maverick Bunker Professor of Management, Emeritus, MIT Sloan School of Management.

Navigating Generative AI in Higher Education Panel with (l-r) Kyle Arnone, AFT Collective Bargaining Director, Amanda Blair, Fisher & Philips LLP, and Tony Picciano, Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center.

Contingent Faculty Job Security Facilitated Session with (l-r) Theodore Curry, Michigan State University Professor Emeritus, School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Mia McIver, UCLA Lecturer; UC-AFT Local 1474 former President and Benjamin Superfine, University of Illinois Chicago Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Relations.

Labor-Management Cooperation in Reversing Contingency Panel with (l-r) Melissa Sortman, Michigan State University Director of Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs, Heather Pierce, Rutgers University Adjunct Faculty Member, Carla Katz, Rutgers University, NTT Faculty Member and Kim O'Halloran, Rutgers University VP of Academic Planning & Administration.

Collective Bargaining and Library Personnel in Higher Education Panel with (l-r) Ahsan Ali, Tufts University Labor Relations Director, Kelly McElroy, United Academics of Oregon State, AAUP/AFT Local 9609, Meredith Kahn, LEO AFT-MI 6244, Campus Chair, (GLAM), Adriene Lim, University of Maryland - College Park Dean of Libraries and Consuella Askew, Rutgers University, VP for University Libraries.

Graduate Student Representation Election Outcomes Panel with (l-r) Jacob Apkarian, York College Associate Professor, Kathy Collins, Huron Consulting Group, Gary Rhoades, University of Arizona Professor and 

Nick DiGiovanni, Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP.

Collective Bargaining and Museums with (l-r) Michael Loconto, Loconto ADR, Trish Jeffers, Guggenheim Museum Amanda Tobin Ripley, Ohio State Graduate Teaching Associate, Donna Gustafson, Rutgers University, Maida Rosenstein, UAW Local 2110 and Halcyone Schiller, AFSCME DC 47.

Higher Ed Vaccine Mandates in Canada and the US with (l-r) Larry Savage and Alison Braley-Rattai, Brock University.

Trustees’ Perspectives on Collective Bargaining Panel with (l-r) Paul Brown, University of Michigan Board of Regents, Todd Regis, Central Michigan University Trustee, Susan Solomon, City College of San Francisco Trustee and Kenneth Mash, APSCUF President.

Book Discussion: Right to Learn: Resisting the Right-Wing Attack on Academic Freedom with (l-r) Charles Toombs, CFA President, Ellen Schrecker, Professor Emerita, Yeshiva University, Helena Worthen, labor educator, retired, University of Illinois, and Jennifer Ruth, Portland State University Professor.

Resident and Fellow Unionization: State Medical Schools with (l-r) Sara Slinn, York University, David Dashefsky, CIR-SEIU, Wade Baughman, University of Michigan, Michael Kelly, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Cindy Hamra, University of Washington School of Medicine, and Banks Evans, University of Washington Labor Relations.

National Center Volunteers and Staff (l-r) Amy Jeu, Hunter College , Kim Middleton, CUNY Central, Greg and Winnie Johnson, National Center Staff.

National Center Staff with

(l-r) Michelle Savarese, National Center Administrator and Nancy Hanks, National Center Conference Coordinator.

We thank Alexandra Lacey of Persuasion Pictures for recording and producing the following videos from our 2024 annual conference.

Keynote Presentation by Thomas A. Kochan, George Maverick Bunker Professor of Management, Emeritus, MIT Sloan School of Management with an introduction by Adrienne Eaton, Dean, Office of the Dean and Distinguished Professor, Labor Studies and Employment Relations, Rutgers University.

Panel: Navigating Generative AI in Higher Education: Implications for Collective Bargaining, Pedagogy, and Research with Kyle Arnone, AFT Collective Bargaining Center, Anthony G. Picciano, Professor, Hunter College, School of Education and CUNY Graduate Center, Amanda M. Blair, Associate, Fisher & Phillips LLP, and Rob Weill, AFT Director of Policy, Research and Field Services, Panelist and Moderator.

Book Discussion: Contingent Faculty and the Remaking of Higher Education: A Labor History with Gwendolyn Alker, Associate Arts Professor, Department of Drama, New York University, Joe T. Berry, Ph.D., City College of San Francisco and University of Illinois (retired), COCAL, HELU, Anne McLeer, Director of Higher Education and Strategic Planning, SEIU Local 500, Gary Rhoades, Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona, Commentator, and Eric Fure-Slocum, Associate Professor of History (Emeritus), co-editor of Contingent Faculty and the Remaking of Higher Education, Moderator.

Panel: Best Practices in Collective Negotiations with Pamela Silverblatt, Senior Counsel, Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, John Gross, Ingerman Smith LLP, Frederick Floss, Professor, Economics and Finance, and Co-Director, Center for Economic Education, SUNY Buffalo State University, Elizabeth Vignaux, Labor Relations Specialist, NYSUT, and Scott M. Sommer, Commissioner, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Moderator.

Panel: Best Practices in Arbitration with Homer LaRue, Labor Arbitrator, Mediator, and Professor, Howard University Law School, Marlene Gold, Labor Arbitrator, Mark Gaston Pearce, Labor Arbitrator, Visiting Professor and Executive Director, Workers’ Rights Institute, Georgetown University Law School, and Katie Rosen, Labor Arbitrator. Co-sponsored by the National Academy of Arbitrators.

Book Discussion: The Costs of Completion: Student Success in Community College with Robin G. Isserles, Author, The Costs of Completion: Student Success in Community College, Professor of Sociology, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, and Grievance Counselor for Full-time Faculty, PSC BMCC Chapter, Christine Mangino, President, Queensborough Community College, CUNY, Wendy Brill-Wynkoop, President, Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, Colena Sesanker, Associate Professor, Philosophy, Gateway Community College, CT, Member of Board of Regents of CSCU, and Jennifer Shanoski, Chemistry, Merritt College, Oakland California, Moderator.

Panel: Trustees’ Perspectives on Collective Bargaining with Susan Solomon, City College of San Francisco Trustee, Todd J. Regis, Central Michigan University Trustee, Paul Brown, University of Michigan Board of Regents, and Kenneth M. Mash, President, APSCUF, Moderator.

Panel: Bargaining Issues For Classified, Clerical, and Other Campus Staff with Sarah Wofford, AFT Vice President, Oregon School Employees Association, Christine O'Connell, President, Union of Rutgers Administrators AFT Local 1766, Rainah Chambliss, Co-President of the Faculty and Staff Federation of Community College of Philadelphia, and Andre’ Poplar, Vice Chancellor – Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice, Oakland Community College – District, Moderator.

Join the Campaign for an Interactive Collective Bargaining Website

Join the National Center's campaign to fund a permanent interactive website that will provide access to the National Center's database of information and contracts concerning all academic collective bargaining relationships listed in our upcoming 2024 Directory of Bargaining Agents and Contracts in Institutions of Higher Education.

The funds from the campaign would help build the website and allow us to employ graduate students to maintain the website, ensure the accessibility of the contracts, and regularly update our database with information such as successor agreements and new collective bargaining relationships.

The features of the interactive website would include the ability of negotiators, representatives, and scholars to:

• search our repository of close to 900 current contracts individually or in a group utilizing a word search function.

• search and display variables in our database by institution, bargaining agent, unit composition, and state and would allow the download of data in different formats so that users would be able to analyze the data using their favorite program.

Lastly, the website would include a data entry portal for users to update the data by adding or correcting any data points.

An interactive website will be of immense value to all institutions of higher education, unions representing faculty, post-doctoral scholars, and graduate assistants, law firms representing institutions and unions, as well as scholars of higher education and labor.

Making the interactive website a reality requires financial support. The creation of an operational website may cost as much as $50,000 with additional annual costs to employ graduate students to maintain and update the website.

We, therefore, encourage higher education institutions, unions, law firms, and others to contribute toward the creation and maintenance of the interactive website, which we hope to put online by the end of 2024.

The following are suggested donation amounts to fund the interactive website:

$10,000

$ 5,000

$ 2,500

$ 1,000

$ 500

Other amounts: $250, $100, $50, or $25.Donate Now

University of Hawai'i: State Agency Rules Institution Did Not Violate Duty to Negotiate and Consult Concerning Changes to Title IX Policy

Board of Regents, University of Hawai'i, HLRB Case No. 22-CE-07-968

On April 29, 2024, the Hawai’I Labor Relations Board (HLRB) issued a decision dismissing a complaint filed by the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly (UHPA) alleging that the University of Hawaii had violated its duties, under that state’s public sector labor law, to bargain in good faith and to engage in meaningful consultation with UHPA concerning certain proposed changes to the university’s Title IX Policies.

In dismissing the allegation that the university had failed to negotiate in good faith over the impact of the proposed changes, HLRB reasoned that UHPA’s demand to bargain failed to provide the university with sufficient notice of the items it sought to discuss in negotiations. The agency noted that “the notice requirement is particularly significant in this case where there have already been extensive consultations both on the prior versions of the Title IX Policies and on these proposed Title IX Policies on the subjects that UHPA had deemed negotiable—the statute of limitations, supportive measures and sanctions preponderance of the evidence standard.” (p. 20) 



With respect to UHPA”s allegation that the university had failed to satisfy its duty to consult, HLRB found that the university’s Consultation Letter to UHPA concerning revisions to the Title IX policies, and the subsequent consultations between the parties, met the university’s legal obligations.

Northeastern University: NLRB Finds University Violated

 Its Duty to Bargain in Good Faith with Police Union

Northeastern University, NLRB Case No. 01–CA–329551

On May 21, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision granting summary judgement against Northeastern University finding that it had engaged in an unfair labor practice by refusing to bargain in good faith with the American Coalition of Public Safety, the union certified to represent the following campus police bargaining unit:

All full-time and regular part-time sergeants, sergeant detectives, and detectives employed by the Employer at its Boston, Massachusetts location, but excluding all managers and supervisors as defined in the Act.

The university argued that that it was willing to bargain in good faith concerning the detectives in the bargaining unit but refused to do so concerning the sergeants and sergeant detectives because of their alleged supervisory status.

The NLRB ruled that the university's willingness to negotiate concerning a subset of the bargaining unit did not satisfy its statutory obligation to bargaining concerning the certified unit. See Tom Thumb Stores, Inc., 123 NLRB 833 (1959).

The final NLRB decision and order, will now allow the university to challenge the original certification in federal court on based on its contention that the sergeants and sergeant detectives are supervisors and therefore not statutory employees under the National Labor Relations Act.

University of California: Unfair Practice Charge Filed Against the UAW

The Regents of the University of California, CERB Case No. SF-CO-246-H

On May 17, 2024, the University of California filed an unfair practice charge and a request for injunctive relief with the California Public Employment Relations Board (CPERB) alleging that that the UAW violated the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) by authorizing strikes by its four bargaining units at the university: Academic Graduate Student Researchers Unit;, Academic Student Employees Unit; Postdoctoral Scholars Unit; and the Academic Researchers Unit.

In its charge, the University of California alleges that the planned strike activity on various campuses violates the no-strike provision in the collective bargaining agreement for each unit and that the goal of the strikes are unrelated to university employment.

On May 24, 2024, the CPERB Office of General Counsel issued a complaint against the UAW alleging that the strike authorization constituted a unilateral action and a violation of the UAW's duty to bargaining in good faith. According to a media report, CPERB also issued an order on May 23, 2024 denying the university's application for injunctive relief.

For additional information concerning this legal dispute, see this Bloomberg Law article: University of California Grad Student Strike Sparks Legal Fight

Loyola Marymount University: SEIU Files Fourth NTT Faculty Petition

Loyola Marymount University, NLRB Case No. 31-RC-341771

In our April, 2024 newsletter, we reported on three separate representation petitions filed by SEIU Local 721 with the NLRB seeking to represent units of full-time and part-time non-tenure track faculty at certain colleges of Loyola Marymount University. 

On May 7, 2024, SEIU Local 721 filed another representation petition with the NLRB concerning non-tenure track visiting faculty at Loyola Marymount University. In the new petition, SEIU Local 721 seeks to represent a bargaining unit of 50 non-tenure track visiting faculty at LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, College of Communications and Fine Arts, School of Film and Television, School of Education, College of Business Administration, and the Frank R. Seaver College of Science & Engineering.

The following is a description of the proposed unit in the latest SEIU Local 721 representation petition:

Included: All non-tenure-track visiting faculty; including but not limited to those with the title of Visiting Professor (Assistant, Associate, and Professor); who are employed by Loyola Marymount University and who teach at least one credit-earning class, section, lesson, or lab within the academic units known as the LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, College of Communications and Fine Arts, School of Film and Television, School of Education, College of Business Administration, and the Frank R. Seaver College of Science & Engineering.

Excluded: All tenured or tenure-track faculty; all other non-tenure-track faculty; all faculty teaching at an academic unit at Loyola Law School; all emeritus faculty; all registrars and librarians; all Athletic Department coaches; all graduate students of LMU; all lab assistants, graduate assistants, clinical fellows, teaching assistants, and research assistants; all mentors who do not have teaching responsibilities; the President of LMU, the Provost; all Associate Provosts, Vice Provosts, and Vice Presidents; all Deans, Vice Deans, Associate Deans and Assistant Deans, regardless of their faculty status; all non-faculty-employees; all volunteers; and all managers, supervisors, and guards as defined in the Act.

Hagerstown Community College: AFT Files to Represent Faculty

Hagerstown Community College, MPERB Case No. EL 2024-08

On April 30, 2024, AFT-Maryland filed a petition with the Maryland Public Employee Relations Board seeking to represent a bargaining unit of 77 full-time faculty at Hagerstown Community College.

USC: UAW Files Petition to Represent Postdocs and Researcher Unit

University of Southern California, NLRB Case No. 31-RC-341893

On May 9, 2024, USC Researchers and Fellows United – UAW filed a petition to represent a unit of 550 postdoctoral scholars and research associates employed by the University of Southern California. 

The following is a description of the proposed bargaining unit set forth in the representation petition:

Included: All Postdoctoral Scholars and Research Associates employed by the University of Southern California regardless of funding sources, including Postdoctoral Scholar—Research Associate; Postdoctoral Scholar—Fellowship Trainee; Postdoctoral Scholar—Teaching Fellow, Research Associate, and those compensated through fellowships and/or training grants (Including but not limited to title codes 098063, 098219, 098220, 098221, 098223, 098227, 098231, 098232, 098233, and 098234).

Excluded: All Postdoctoral Scholar–Visiting Fellow (Title Code 098229), Senior Research Associate (Title Code 098060), Research Scientist (Staff) (Title Code 098026), and all other employees, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Postdocs Vote to Unionize

Albert Einstein College Of Medicine Inc, NLRB Case No. 02-RC-340029

On May 16, 2024, the NLRB tallied the ballots in a representation election concerning a petition filed by Einstein Researchers United-UAW seeking to represent a unit of 225 postdoctoral fellows at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The tally demonstrated that the postdoctoral fellows voted 182-32 in favor of Einstein Researchers United-UAW representation

The following is a description of the new postdoctoral fellows bargaining unit at Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Included: All Postdoctoral Fellows, including Research Fellows, employed by the Employer at its Bronx, NY campus.

Excluded: All other employees, including confidential employees, managerial employees, guards, and supervisors as defined by the Act.

Princeton University: Postdocs Vote for UAW Representation

Trustees of Princeton University d/b/a Princeton University,

NLRB Case No. 22-RC-339137

On May 9, 2024, the NLRB tallied the ballots in a representation case filed by Princeton University Postdocs & Scholars-UAW with the NLRB seeking to represent a unit of postdoctoral scholars at Princeton University. The ballot demonstrated that in a bargaining unit of 979 employees, the postdoctoral scholars voted 484-89 in favor of representation by Princeton University Postdocs & Scholars-UAW.

The following is the description of the new postdoctoral schoalrs unit at Princeton University:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time postdoctoral research associates, postdoctoral research fellows, associate research scholars, senior research assistants, and postgraduate research associates employed by Princeton University.

Excluded: All, office clerical employees, managerial employees, associate research physicists, guards, and supervisors as defined by the Act, and all other employees.

Princeton University: GSE Vote Against UE Representation

Princeton University, NLRB Case No: 22-RC-339987

On May 14, 2024, the NLRB tallied the ballots in a representation case filed by United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) - Graduate Students United with the NLRB seeking to represent a unit of graduate student employees at Princeton University. The ballot demonstrated that in a bargaining unit of 1523, the graduate student employees voted 391-652 against representation by United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) - Graduate Students United. 

This is the first graduate student employee representation election since the end of the pandemic in which the employees vote against unionization.

The following is the description of the proposed at-issue graduate student employee unit at Princeton University:

Included: All graduate students enrolled in Princeton University degree programs who currently hold appointments as Assistants in Instruction and/or Assistants in Research (or such other titles used to describe those same appointments).

Excluded: All other employees; undergraduate students; graduate students not holding appointments as Assistants in Instruction or Assistants in Research (or such other titles used to describe those same appointments); hourly employees; Fellows; graduate students not seeking Princeton University degrees, including visiting students; confidentials; office clericals; managers; guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.

University of Pennsylvania: UAW Certified to Represent GSE Unit  

Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, NLRB Case No. 04-RC-327396

On May 13, 2024, Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania/International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (GETUP-UAW) was certified by the NLRB to represent a bargaining unit of 4003 graduate student employees at the University of Pennsylvania. The certification followed a May 3, 2024 tally of ballots by the NLRB demonstrating that the graduate student employees voted 1904-97 in favor of representation by GETUP-UAW.

The following is a description of the new bargaining unit at the University of Pennsylvania

Included: All graduate and professional students who provide research or instructional services for the University, including those who serve as Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Research Assistants, Research Fellows, Pre-Doctoral Trainees, and Student Workers. This includes Educational Fellowship Recipients if they provide teaching or research services for the University, including those who serve as Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Research Assistants, Research Fellows, Pre-Doctoral Trainees, and Student Workers. This includes Educational Fellowship Recipients if they provide teaching or research services for the University, including those who serve as Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Research Assistants, Research Fellows, Pre-Doctoral Trainees, and Student Workers employed by the Employer at its Philadelphia, PA University.

Excluded: All other employees, students pursuing professional degrees in the Veterinary School, the Dental School, and the Medical School with the exception of professional students in those programs who are pursuing a joint degree and who qualify for inclusion by virtue of their research or instructional service for the University in conjunction with their other graduate or professional program, Educational Fellowship Recipients who do not provide teaching or research services for the University, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.

Note: Additional employees in the title of Educational Fellowship Recipients in the Biology PhD Program and the Biomedical Graduate Studies PhD Program were permitted to vote in the representation election, but their ballots were challenged because their eligibility had not been resolved prior to the election.

Wesleyan University: GSE Election Scheduled

Wesleyan University, NLRB Case No. 01-RC-341106

A stipulated election agreement was reached on May 9, 2024 concerning a representation petition filed by Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153, AFL-CIO seeking to represent a unit of 133 graduate student employees at Wesleyan University. 

The following is a description of the proposed bargaining unit set forth in the OPEIU Local 153 petition:

Included: All graduate student employees who work in teaching and researching at Wesleyan University at every graduate level, including Doctorate, Masters, Foreign Language Teacher Assistants, and Bachelor-Masters programs.

Excluded: All other employees at Wesleyan University.

University of Chicago: SEIU Certified to Represent Interns and Residents

The University of Chicago Medical Center, NLRB Case No. 13-RC-338986

On May 14, 2024, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU, was certified by the NLRB to represent a unit of 1,031 interns and residents at the University of Chicago Medical Center. The certification followed a May 6, 2024 tally of ballots that demonstrated the interns and residents had voted 612-9 in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU.

The following is a description of the newly certified unit of interns and residents at the University of Chicago Medical Center:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time licensed physicians in the following classifications: interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows who are employed by The University of Chicago Medical Center ("UCMC") in residency and/or fellowship programs based at UCMC's Hyde Park main campus, which includes the Center for Care and Discovery, Mitchell Hospital, Goldblatt Pavilion, the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine, Wyler, and Comer Children's Hospital; at Endeavor Health Evanston Hospital in Evanston, IL; or at Endeavor Glenbrook Hospital in Glenbrook, IL; including physicians employed by UCMC in a residency and/or fellowship program based at these locations while rotating and/or assigned by UCMC to other work locations.

Excluded: All Administrative Chiefs; all interns, residents, chief residents and fellows who are employees of any branch of the United States Armed Forces; all interns, residents, chief residents and fellows who are employees of any sovereign foreign government; all interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows with dental degrees; all interns, residents, chief residents, and fellows who are not licensed physicians; all registered nurses; all other professional employees; all employees of other employers, including The University of Chicago and Endeavor Health; all other employees of UCMC; all managerial employees; all guards and all supervisors as defined in the National Labor Relations Act.

Detroit Education & Research: Election Scheduled for Interns & Fellows

Detroit Education & Research, NLRB Case No. 07-RC-316218

On April 24, 2024, the NLRB issued a notice of election concerning a representation petition filed by Alliance of Resident Physicians, AFT-Michigan, AFT, AFL-CIO seeking to represent a unit of 1,300 interns, resident physicians, and medical fellows employed by Detroit Education & Research. The notice ordered a mail ballot election with the ballots to be allied tallied on May 29, 2024.

The following is the at-issue unit at Detroit Education & Research

All full-time and regular part-time interns, resident physicians, and medical

fellows employed by the Employer, but excluding all other employees, managers,

and guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.

Kaiser Permanente: Interns and Residents Vote To Unionize with SEIU

Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, NLRB Case No. 32-RC-339229

On May 23, 2024, the NLRB tallied the ballots in a representation election concerning a petition by the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957 to be certified as the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit of 456 full-time and regular part-time interns and residents employed at Kaiser Permanente hospitals. The tally demonstrated that the the interns and residents voted 311-4 in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU Local 1957.

The following is a description of the new interns and residents bargaining unit at Kaiser Permanente hospitals:

Included: All full-time and regular part-time Resident physicians regardless of PGY/R year [PGY 1 or R1 and above], Chief Residents, Fellows, and Chief Fellows employed by the employer in and out of its facilities located at Modesto Medical Center 4601 Dale Road, Modesto, CA 95356; Oakland Medical Center 3600 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611; Sacramento Downtown Commons Medical Offices 501 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814; Sacramento Medical Center 2025 Morse Ave, Sacramento, CA 95825; South Sacramento Medical Center 6600 Bruceville Rd, Sacramento, CA 95823; San Francisco Medical Center 2425 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94115; San Leandro Medical Center 2500 Merced St, San Leandro, CA 94577; San Jose Medical Center 250 Hospital Parkway, San Jose CA 95119; Santa Clara Medical Center 700 Lawrence Expressway, Santa Clara, CA 95051; Santa Rosa Medical Center 401 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa, CA 95403; and Vallejo Medical Center 975 Sereno Drive, Vallejo, CA 94589.

Excluded: all other employees, managers, directors, Resident Faculty, confidential employees, office clerical employees, guards, and supervisors as defined by the Act

University of Maryland Medical Center: AFT Seeks Residents and Fellows

University of Maryland Medical Center, NLRB Case No. 05-RM-342035

On May 10, 2024, the University of Maryland Medical Center filed a petition concerning the representation of a unit of 25 residents and fellows by the University of Maryland Resident and Fellow Alliance, AFT-Maryland, AFT, AFL-CIO.

The following is the description of the at-issue unit in the University of Maryland Medical Center's petition:

Included: The residents and fellows employed by the University of Maryland Medical Center, LLC at the University of Maryland Medical Center located at 22 South Greene Street and its Midtown Campus located at 827 Linden Avenue, in Baltimore, Maryland.

ChristianaCare: SEIU Seeks to Represent Doctors at Three Hospitals

On May 14, 2024, Doctors Council, SEIU Local 10MD filed petitions seeking to represent physicians at three private hospitals in Delaware. 

Below is information about the three petitions.

ChristianaCare d/b/a Christiana Hospital, NLRB Case No. 04-RC-342229

The petition by Doctors Council, SEIU Local 10MD seeks to represent a unit of 450 full-time, regular part-time, and per diem physicians and podiatrists employed by ChristianaCare at Christiana Hospital.

ChristianaCare d/b/a Middletown Free-Standing Emergency Department, NLRB Case No. 04-RC-342229



The petition by Doctors Council, SEIU Local 10MD seeks to represent a unit of 70 full-time, regular part-time, and per diem physicians employed by ChristianaCare at Middletown Free-Standing Emergency Department.

ChristianaCare d/b/a Wilmington Hospital, NLRB Case No. 04-RC-342252

The petition by Doctors Council, SEIU Local 10MD seeks to represent a unit of 300 full-time, regular part-time, and per diem physicians and podiatrists employed by ChristianaCare at Wilmington Hospital.

American University: SEIU Files to Represent Professional Unit

American University, NLRB Case No. 05-RC-341134

On April 29, 2024, SEIU Local 500 filed a petition seeking to represent a unit of 190 full-time and part-time professional employees employed by American University. On May 7, 2024, the parties entered in an agreement scheduling an election.

The following is a description of the proposed bargaining unit in the SEIU Local 500 representation petition:

Including: All full time and regular part-time professional and non-professional employees employed below the level of Associate Director in the Student Affairs, Information Technology, and University Communications & Marketing Divisions by American University in Washington, DC.

Excluding: All other employees, faculty other than staff holding adjunct appointments, students at the University paid from budget lines for student wages or Federal Work Study funds or who are employees of University as part of their role as students, employees who are working in positions funded partly or totally through external sources where the University does not control their wages, confidential employees, managers, guards, and supervisors as defined by the National Labor Relations Act.

Buffalo AKG Art Museum: Workers Vote Against SEIU Representation

Buffalo Fine Arts Academy d/b/a/ Buffalo AKG Art Museum,

NLRB Case No. 03-RC-340004

On May 16, 2024, the NLRB issued a certification of results, following a May 8, 2024 tally of ballots, involving a representation petition filed by Rochester Regional Joint Board, Workers United, an SEIU affiliate, to represent a unit of 53 employees of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. The certification stated that a majority of the valid ballots cast did not support representation by Rochester Regional Joint Board, Workers United.

The following is a description of the at-issue unit at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum

Included: All full-time and regular part-time Membership Associates, Advancement Associates, Assistant Managers of Government & Foundation Relationships, Events Coordinator, Managers of Advancement Services, Managers of Philanthropy, Membership Engagement Coordinators, Travel Coordinators, Archivists, Art Preparator & Lighting Technicians, Art Preparators, Senior Art Preparators, Curatorial Department Assistants, Associate Curators, Accounts Payable Representative, Collections and Exhibitions Photographers, Collections Digitization Specialists, IT Support Technicians, Project Managers, Systems Engineers, Learning Through Play Coordinators, Multigenerational Programs Coordinators, Public Programs Coordinators, Art Instructors, Managers of Interpretation & Docents, Gallery Teachers, Public Art Project Coordinators, Digital Content Managers, Editors, Managing Editors, Multimedia Producers, Fine Art Cataloguers, Assistant Registrars for Exhibitions, Registrars for the Collection, Registrars for Outgoing Loans, Managers of Marketing and Media Relations, Managers of Community Engagement and Senior Manager of Operations.

Excluded: Preservation & Safety Employees, all office clerical employees, confidential employees, guards, and professional employees and supervisors as defined in the Act, and all other employees.

Bowdoin College: OPEIU 153 Withdraws Petition for Resident Assistants

Bowdoin College, NLRB Case No: 01-RC-337040

On April 2, 2024, the NLRB Region Director granted a request by OPEIU Local 153 to withdraw its petition seeking to represent a unit of Resident Assistants at Bowdoin College. The withdrawal was granted one day before the scheduled representation election.

The National Center's Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy has published Volume 15 titled "Learning From and Building on Collective Bargaining's Foundations and Experience."

The Journal's Editors-in-Chief 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.

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

Job Posting:

National Center Part-Time Research Assistant

The National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions is a CUNY labor-management center located at Hunter College that researches unionization and collective bargaining in higher education and the professions.



Job Title: National Center Part-Time Research Assistant.

Description of position: The Research Assistant will work with other National Center

researchers on projects relating to unionization, collective bargaining, and

representation of tenured, tenured-track and contingent faculty, and graduate and

undergraduate student employees. The Research Assistant will assist in collecting data

every week of new representation efforts from the websites of the National Labor

Relations Board and similar state labor relations agencies. The Research Assistant will

collect strike activity in higher education from news sources including LexisNexis. In

addition, the person will assist in preparing the National Center’s monthly newsletter in

Constant Contact and assist with our annual conference in March 2025.

Term: 2024-2025 academic year

Desired class level: We have a preference for a doctoral student with qualitative and

quantitative analytical skills and experience in labor, employment, and collective

bargaining issues. Graduate and undergraduate students with relevant skills and

experience in labor, employment, and collective bargaining issues may also apply.

Salary range: $20.00-$47.42 per hour depending on qualifications.

Location: Hunter College, 68th Street Campus, East Building, E1418, New York City. Remote work is an option.

Apply: Submit Electronic Applications to: William A. Herbert, Executive

Director, wh124@hunter.cuny.edu. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Documents requested: Cover letter, c.v., 3 references, and a writing sample