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

October 2025 Newsletter

This month's newsletter announces that Wesleyan University President Michael S. Roth is the confirmed keynote speaker for our 53rd Annual Conference on March 22-24, 2026 in New York City. We also provide conference registration information, announce the first series of confirmed panels, workshops and participants, and provide information about sponsorships and conference program advertisements.

The newsletter provides information about our new Contract Research Site, a contribution-based platform, which will allow users to research the terms of hundreds of collective bargaining agreements in higher education. It also announces that CUNY Senior Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and Labor Relations Kenneth Godiner has joined the National Center's Board of Advisors and an upcoming presentation by Executive Director Bill Herbert at the Southern Regional Education Board's Institute on Teaching and Mentoring.

We also report on the results of the recent faculty representation election at Thomas College in Maine and the scheduling of a representation election for graduate student employees at Pennsylvania State University. Among the many consequences of the federal shutdown is our inability to access data from the NLRB website. As a result, we are unable to report on other new and pending representation matters at private colleges and universities.

Lastly, the newsletter includes information about two new books of interest to our labor-management community, links to videos from our 2025 annual conference, links to articles from the recent volume of the Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, and job postings for a State University of New York Assistant Counsel position, the Professional Staff Congress, AFT Local 2334 Executive Director position, and a University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations Assistant Professor in Labor Economics position.

2026 Annual Conference Keynote Speaker:

Wesleyan University President Michael S. Roth

The National Center is pleased to announce that Wesleyan University President, Michael S. Roth will give the keynote address at the National Center's 53rd Annual Conference in New York City on March 22-24, 2026.

President Roth became the 16th president of Wesleyan University in 2007, after having served as Hartley Burr Alexander Professor of Humanities at Scripps College, Associate Director of the Getty Research Institute, and President of the California College of the Arts. He is one of the leading higher education voices defending the value of colleges and universities and their importance to our democracy.

President Roth is known for his work as an administrator, scholar, and public intellectual. He is the author of numerous books—many bearing on liberal education—and regularly publishes essays, book reviews, and commentaries in national media and scholarly journals. In 2025, he was given the PEN/Benenson Courage Award for standing up against governmental assaults on higher education.

Register Today for Our March 22-24, 2026 Annual Conference

The National Center is pleased to announce that registration is open for our 53rd annual conference. The conference will take place on March 22-24, 2026 in New York City. The theme of the conference will be Uniting for Workplace and Political Democracy.

Register here for the 2026 annual conference.

Below is a list of currently confirmed panels and workshops for next year's conference. Additional sessions will be announced over the next few weeks.

Plenary: Education 4 All with Michael Gavin, President, Delta College, Paulette Granberry Russell, J.D., President, National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, Stephanie J. Fujii, President, Arapahoe Community College, Todd Wolfson, President, AAUP, and Alexandra (Sascha) Matish, Associate Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs and Senior Director, Academic Human Resources, University of Michigan, Moderator.

Research Panel: Report on Negotiated Academic Freedom Clauses in Collective Bargaining Agreements with Timothy Reese Cain, Associate Director and Professor of Higher Education, University of Georgia, Anita Levy, Senior Program Officer, AAUP, Erin Ward, PhD Student in Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center, and Kathryn Ritchie, M.A. Candidate in Adolescent Social Studies Education, Hunter College. Commentators will be Rana Jaleel, Associate Professor, University of California-Davis and Nicholas DiGiovanni, Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP, with moderator Risa L. Lieberwitz, Professor of Labor and Employment Law, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University.

Interactive Workshop: Negotiating over Academic Freedom with Bethany Gizzi, President, Monroe Community College Faculty Association, Joseph McConnell, Morgan, Brown & Joy LLP and Kathy Sheffield, CFA Director of Representation and Bargaining, Moderator. (Workshop in formation).

Panel: Community College Perspectives on AI Policy and Codified Teaching Practice: Faculty and Administrator Views, Liability Implications, and Impacts at the Bargaining Table with Andre’ L. Poplar, J.D., Vice Chancellor for Human Resources, Oakland Community College, Cameron Redden, Ed.D., Executive Director, Presidential Initiatives & Strategic Management, Cuyahoga Community College, Deborah H. Williams, J.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Johnson County Community College, Former JCCC Faculty Association President and Lead Negotiator, Eric Rader, AFT’s Higher Ed's Policy and Program Council and AI Task Force, President, AFT Local, Henry Ford Community College, and Martin Balinsky, Ph.D., Professor Tallahassee State College, President, United Faculty of Florida-Tallahassee State College, Moderator.

Interactive Workshop: Ensuring Equitable AI Transitions in Higher Education Workplaces and Beyond with Joy Ming, Postdoc, Cornell ILR, Dibyendu Mishra, PhD Student, Cornell Information Science, Ayham Boucher, Head of AI Innovations, Cornell Information Technologies, and Ariel Avgar, Professor, Cornell ILR.

Interactive Workshop: Stress Reduction for Faculty, Administrators, Student Employees, and Staff with facilitators Serena Rice, M.S., Project Manager, UMass Lowell and Courtney Hill, LCSW, CSWM Social Services Specialist, NYSUT. (Workshop in formation).

Panel: Litigation Update and Administrative Remedies in Defense of Federal Research Funding with Amanda Fuchs Miller, Seventh Street Strategies and Rachel Homer, Democracy Forward. (Panel in formation).

Panel: When Democracy and Equity Collide: Responses to Promote Institutional Learning: with Elizabethada Wright, Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth, and Contract Administrator, UEA, Josué Arredondo, adjunct English Professor, Southwestern College and San Diego Miramar College, Michael Buchler, Professor of Music Theory, Florida State University and co-chief negotiator, United Faculty of Florida–FSU, Geoffery Johnson, adjunct English and Humanities Professor, San Diego Mesa and Southwestern Colleges and President, AFT National Adjunct Contingent Caucus, John L. Hoffman, President, Bemidji State University, Commentator, and Christina Gallup, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth, Moderator.

Panel: Best Practices in Establishing or Opposing Past Practices in Labor Arbitration with Shinika Hunter, Labor Relations Specialist, NYSUT, Kevin Pollit, NYSUT Regional Director, John Gross, Ingerman Smith LLP, Christopher Mestecky, Guercio and Guercio LLP, and Katie Rosen, Arbitrator and Mediator, Moderator.

Panel: Equity at Work? Gender, Parenthood, and Benefits in Higher Education with Rhiannon M. Maton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Foundations and Social Advocacy, State University of New York, Cortland, Affiliated Researcher, National Center, Carrie Rohman, Ph.D., Professor of English, Lafayette College, Editor, SUNY Press (2025) “Broken Record: Gendered Abuse in Academia”, Eve Weinbaum, Ph.D., President, Massachusetts Society of Professors and Professor of Sociology & Labor Studies, UMass Amherst, Professor of Sociology, UMass Amherst, Melissa Sortman, Assistant Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs, Michigan State University, and Shirley Lin, Associate Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School, Moderator. 

Panel: Postdocs, Sexual Harassment, and Collective Bargaining--Intersections and Issues with Kait Spear, Program Officer, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Andrea Joseph, Assistant Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University, and Karen R. Stubaus, Vice President of Academic Affairs Emerita at Rutgers University and Affiliated Researcher at the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions. (Panel in formation).

Panel: Union Leaders of Color Transforming Higher Education and Centering Democracy with María del Mar Rosa Rodríguez, Professor Hispanic Studies, Universidad de Puerto Rico Recinto de Cayey, President, Asociación Puertorriqueña de Profesores Universitarios (APPU), Charles Toombs, Professor of Africana Studies, San Diego State University, Immediate Past President, California Faculty Association, Michelle Ramos Pellicia, Professor of World Languages and Hispanic Literature, California State University, San Marcos, Vice President, California Faculty Association, Tracey Salisbury, Associate Professor, Chair, Ethnic Studies, California State University, Bakersfield, Associate Vice President, South, California Faculty Association, and Margarita Berta-Avila, Professor of Education, Sacramento State University, President, California Faculty Association, Moderator.

Panel: Turnover the Other Cheek: Challenges of Collective Bargaining for Graduate Assistant Populations with Cassandra Urbenz, UF GAU President and NEA Graduate Committee, University of Florida, Tessa Barber, USF GAU President, NEA Graduate Committee, University of South Florida and United Faculty of Florida, VP of GAU Bargaining Council, Michael Eagen, Associate Provost, Academic Personnel, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Ayanna Thomas, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Tufts University, and Rebecca S. Natow, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership & Policy, Director, EdD Program in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies and MSEd Program in Higher Education Leadership & Policy Studies, Hofstra University, Moderator.

Panel: Creative Responses to Persistent Inequities of Contingent Labor in Community Colleges with Jennifer Shanoski, Faculty, Merritt College, Wendy Brill-Wynkoop, Past President, Faculty Association of the California Community Colleges, Colena Sesanker, Chair, Faculty Advisory Committee to the Board of Regents for Higher Education, Connecticut State Community Colleges, Christine Mangino, President, Queensborough Community College, CUNY, and Robin G. Isserles, Faculty, BMCC, CUNY, Discussant and Moderator.

Panel: Book Discussion: Library Workers as Defenders of Democracy with Emily Drabinski, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, Queens College, CUNY, Meredith Kahn, Librarian, University of Michigan, Kelly McElroy, Librarian and Associate Professor, Oregon State University (OSU), Angelo Moreno, Organizer, AFSCME Council 31, Chicago, and Maura Smale, Executive Chief Librarian, CUNY Graduate Center.

Panel: The Crisis of Collegiate Black Male Identity: Education, Work, and Democracy with Ajah Hawley-Alexander: Clinical Lecturer, Iona University, Doctoral Candidate, University of Southern Mississippi, Rolando Shannon: Doctoral Candidate at Tennessee State University, Interim Assistant Athletic Director of Student Development, and Nicole Arrighi, NCAA Faculty Representative, Tennessee State University. (Panel in formation).

Panel: Annual Legal Update 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.  

National Center Contract Research Site

On October 1, 2025, the National Center launched our Contract Research Site, an annual contribution-based platform. It is a valuable tool for negotiators, union representatives, administrators, law firms, and others involved in or studying higher education collective bargaining.

The Site includes a search engine to research the terms of hundreds of collective bargaining agreements in higher education. It will also provide filters to permit research by institution, institution type, unit type, bargaining agent, sector, and state.

Access to the Site requires a registration and an annual contribution to the National Center in the amounts set forth below. The contribution will permit a set number of identified individual users to use the Site. A contributor will also be entitled to be listed as a sponsor of our annual conference.

Click here to register and contribute for user access to the Contract Research Site.

Below are images from the Contract Research Site:

Below is a list of annual contribution amounts, the number of identified users entitled to access the Site, and the conference status of the contributor.

Annual contributions received by the National Center will help finance the regular updating of the Site with new first and successor contracts as well as contracts for non-academic employees working in higher education

Limited access to the Site by part-time non-track faculty, postdoctoral scholars and doctoral candidates, graduate and undergraduate student researchers without departmental, institutional, or grant research funding will be determined on an individual need basis. Requests for access by those individuals should be sent to msavares@hunter.cuny.edu.

Become a 53rd Annual Conference Sponsor or Program Advertiser

2026 Conference Sponsorships

To help support the National Center and its 53nd 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.

2026 Conference Program Advertisements

Another important way to celebrate the National Center’s 53rd 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 2026 conference program similar to this year's 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.

New National Center Board Member: CUNY Senior Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and Labor Relations Kenneth Godiner

The National Center is pleased to announce that CUNY’s new Senior Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and Labor Relations Kenneth Godiner has joined our Board of Advisors. He replaces former CUNY Senior Vice Chancellor Doriane Gloria, who retired earlier this year.

Senior Vice Chancellor Godiner has more than three decades of experience in public sector human resources, collective bargaining, benefits and systems management. Prior to coming to CUNY, Senior Vice Chancellor Godiner helped lead New York City’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where he oversaw the city’s annual budgets, and worked with more than 80 New York City agencies and was the point person on citywide human resources and collective bargaining. As part of his leadership in collective bargaining negotiations and human resources strategy at OMB, Vice Chancellor Godiner played a critical role in the 2014 resolution of a long-standing conflict that had left approximately 150,000 city employees across 102 unions without a contract since 2008. He also negotiated the New York City’s first paid parental leave, catastrophic leave donation/bank and expanded the deferred compensation plan. 

National Center Executive Director will be Presenting at

2025 Institute on Teaching and Mentoring

National Center Executive Director Bill Herbert will be presenting at the Southern Regional Education Board's Institute on Teaching and Mentoring on October 31, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. The presentation will provide doctoral scholars with an overview of labor and academic freedom issues they should be aware of in their job search.

Thomas College: Faculty and Dept. Chairs Vote for NEA Representation

Thomas College, NLRB Case No. 01-RC-370968

On August 8, 2025, Maine Education Association-NEA filed petition with the NLRB seeking to represent a union of approximately 42 full-time faculty and department chairs at Thomas College, which is located in Waterville, Maine.

An election was conducted by the NLRB and the September 30, 2025 tally of ballots demonstrated that in a unit of 42 full-time faculty and department chairs, the vote was 28-7 in favor of Maine Education Association-NEA representation.

The following is the description of the at-issue unit at Thomas College:

Included: All full-time faculty and department chairs employed by the Employer at its 180 West Road, Waterville, Maine facility.

Excluded: all office clerical employees, confidential employees, managers, guards, professional employees, and supervisors as defined by the Act.

Due to the federal shutdown, the NLRB has not yet issued a certification of Maine Education Association-NEA as the exclusive representative for the new bargaining unit at Thomas College.

Pennsylvania State University: GSE Representation Election Scheduled

Pennsylvania State University, PLRB Case No. PERA-R-24-276-E

On October 3, 2025, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board issued an order and notice of election concerning a representation petition filed on December 4, 2024 by the Coalition of Graduate Employees-UAW (CGE-UAW) seeking to represent a proposed unit of 2,785 graduate student employees at Pennsylvania State University.

The election started on October 21, 2025 at the Penn State College of Medicine and will continue at Penn State University Park on October 27-29, 2025.

The following is a description of the at-issue bargaining unit at Pennsylvania State University:

Included: All full-time & regular part-time employees of the University who are graduate students on graduate assistantship and who perform services as teaching assistants, research assistants, or administrative support assistants.

Excluded: Graduate students on fellowship, traineeship, management level employees, supervisors, first level supervisors, confidential employees and guards as defined in the Act.                                                                                                           

National Center Newsletter Sponsor

Upcoming Book by National Center

Affiliated Researcher Rhiannon M. Maton

The Handbook on Teachers' Work: International Perspectives on Research and Practice is an upcoming volume edited by National Center Affiliated Researcher Rhiannon M. Maton and Nina Bascia. It brings together research and evidence-based authoritative writings from across the globe that theorizes and studies teachers’ work.

Drawing on research from twelve countries across 6 continents, the chapters are grouped into themes that represent key issues related to work from global perspectives, including:

The Political and Policy Contexts of Teachers' Work

Teaching as an Occupation

Diverse Teacher Identities and Roles

Teaching as Collective and Relational Work; and

Teaching and Activism

The volume explores the idea of teaching as an occupation with a history and trajectory that are shaped by political economies; historical progressions; organizational structures; social relations among educators, students, and others; teachers’ career and labor patterns; their professional norms; and raced, gendered, classed, and culturally linked expectations of teachers and about public schooling.

Pre-order copies are available here:

New Book on Unionization of Library Workers

Video Recordings from the 2025 Annual National Conference

The theme of our 2025 annual national conference was Unity in Defense of Higher Education and Collective Bargaining. The full conference program can be downloaded here.

Below are links to recordings of the welcoming remarks and select presentations from the conference. We thank the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute staff and Hunter College student videographers for their assistance.

Welcoming Remarks with William A. Herbert, Executive Director, National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions, Hunter College, CUNY, Manoj Pardasani, Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Hunter College, CUNY, Malini Cadambi-Daniel, Executive Director, Professional Staff Congress-CUNY, AFT Local 2334, Ahsan Ali, Senior Director of Labor Relations, Tufts University, and Jessica Baker, Hunter College student and National Center Intern.

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.

Research Panel: Presentation on the 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: Current Immigration Issues in Higher Education with Miriam Feldblum, co-founder and Executive Director, Presidents Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, Cianna Freeman-Tolbert, Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, and Channing Cooper, Deputy Director, AFT Legal Department, Panelist and Moderator.

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, National Center Graduate Research Fellow, and Rhiannon M. Maton, Associate Professor, Foundations and Social Advocacy, SUNY Cortland and National Center Visiting Scholar, Panelist and 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, Alec Thomson, President, National Council for Higher Education, NEA, Nicholas L. Collins, ArentFox Schiff LLP, and

Arthur Pearlstein, Arbitrator and Mediator, Moderator.

Book Discussion: Organizing Professionals: Academic Employees Negotiating a New Academy with author Gary Rhoades, Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona, Richard Gomes, Staff Representative, AFT New Jersey, Jennie Shanker, Staff Representative, AFT New Jersey, Laura Murphy, Dutchess Community College, Dan Echikson, Organizer, ACT-UAW Local 7902, and Ryan Quinn, Reporter, Inside Higher Ed, Moderator.

Panel: Administrator Responses to Campus Protest: Lessons from History with Ellen Schrecker, Professor of History (retired), Yeshiva University, member Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, AAUP, Paul Ortiz, Professor of Labor History, Cornell ILR, Jelani Favors, Author of Shelter in a Time of Storm: How Black Colleges Fostered Generations of Leadership and Activism, 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.

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, Volume 16

Last month, Volume 16 of the National Center's Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy was published. The Journal is an open-access, peer-reviewed, online periodical advancing research and scholarly thought related to collective bargaining and other issues in higher education, and making relevant and pragmatic peer-reviewed research readily accessible.

From the Editors

JCBA's Origins, Evolution, & Future by Gary Rhoades and Karen Stubaus

Articles

Who Benefits from a Faculty Union During a Pandemic? by Mary Ellen Benedict, David McClough, and John Hoag

Faculty Views About Their COVID-19 Layoffs from a Public University in the US Midwest by Susan E. Ramlo

A Beautiful Mind Meets Harsh Reality: Practical Tips for Negotiators When Bargaining Strays from Ideal Conditions by Christopher C. Douglas, Ellen Grachek, Allyson Strickland, and Marie Waung

How Do Collective Agreements Stack Up? Implications For Academic Freedom by Tim Ribaric and Rahul Kumar

The Limits of Law: Lessons for Collective Bargaining by Eric J. Scarffe and Daniel Saunders

Practitioner Perspectives

"No Pay, No RAs": Resident Assistant Unionization Amidst University Backlash by Justin Weller

Navigating Harassment and Discrimination at University of California through UAW 4811's Abusive Conduct Contract Provisions by Sarah Arveson and Emily Weintraut

Graduate Student Labor Unions: Two Experienced Academic Administrators Share Their Views by Karen R. Stubaus

Research Notes

Every Grain of Sand: 2024 Changes to the Scope of Higher Education Unionization by William A. Herbert, Joseph van der Naald, and Jacob Apkarian

Book Review

Towards a Progressive Academy: Review of Organizing Professionals: Academic Employees Negotiating a New Academy by Rebecca Kolins Givan

The Journal co-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. The Journal 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.

The Journal is now accepting submissions for Volume 17 to be published in March 2026. 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. Please see the Aims & Scope page for more information or contact the co-editors with any questions on possible submissions.

Job Posting: SUNY Assistant Counsel, Employee Relations

Assistant Counsel, Employee Relations

Apply Now

About The State University of New York:

The State University of New York, or SUNY, is the largest comprehensive system of public higher education in the United States, with 64 colleges and universities spanning the state from Long Island to the Adirondacks to Buffalo. SUNY System Administration employees, based in Albany and New York City, provide critical support for SUNY campuses, employees, and students to advance SUNY's mission of providing high-quality, affordable higher education for all.

Across a wide range of roles, from finance and legal counsel to student support, academic affairs, IT, admissions, and more, our employees work toward advancing the four priority pillars established by SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. and the SUNY Board of Trustees: student success; research and scholarship; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and economic development and upward mobility. SUNY System Administration is a mission-driven workplace with robust New York State benefits including health insurance, retirement, time off, and paid family leave.

Job Description:

As part of Counsel's Office, the System Office of Employee Relations represents the University in its relations with unionized employees. We serve 29 campuses and System Administration in the development and implementation of employee relations policy and practice. This position represents the University in statewide negotiations, coordinates campus involvement in the bargaining process and communicates regularly with campuses regarding their rights and responsibilities under collective bargaining agreements, and related statutes, rules, regulations and case law. The incumbent serves as the Chancellor's representative in hearing appeals of disciplinary and contract grievances pursuant to the collective bargaining agreements, and coordinates the defense of improper practice charges before the Public Employment Relations Board. The incumbent also represents the State-operated campuses in the expedited disciplinary arbitration process for all CSEA represented employees.

SPECIFIC DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the general direction of the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Employee Relations, the Assistant Director of Employee Relations performs the following:

• Supervises the administration of six collective bargaining agreements (with CSEA, PBANYS, NYSCOPBA, PEF), and the application of the Civil Service Law Rules, Regulations and Procedures relating to terms and conditions of employment of employees in the classified service.
• Represents SUNY by serving on statewide negotiating teams and assists in formulation of employee relations policy for classified service employees.
• Serves as the University's representative in the administration of the grievance procedures (contract, non-contract and disciplinary) affecting classified service employees. 
• Serves as a hearing officer in such proceedings, mediates disputes, develops and executes dispute settlement agreements and renders decisions which are binding upon campus managers.
• Serves as the University's representative in the expedited disciplinary arbitration process for all CSEA represented employees.
• Advises campus officers on union contract interpretation, dispute resolution, disciplinary matters and other campus employee relations matters as required. This includes guiding campus designees in the preparation of grievance decisions.
• Serves as liaison to advocate campus and SUNY positions to various external constituencies including unions, Department of Civil Service, Governor's Office of Employee Relations, etc.
• Assists counsel from the Governor's Office of Employee Relations, SUNY Counsel's Office and Attorney General's Office in the preparation of contract and disciplinary arbitrations, improper practice charges before the Public Employment Relations Board, Civil Service Department hearings and other litigation.
• Serves as the University representative to statewide committees such as the CSEA and PEF Statewide Labor/Management Committees, the Statewide Clerical Advancement Committee, NYS/CSEA Partnership for Education and Training, the PEF Nursing Issues Committee and other joint labor-management ventures.
• Advises campus level labor relations designees.
• Provides assistance and training to campus officers as they develop and implement policies and programs such as attendance control, employee assistance, safety, clerical advancement, performance evaluations, counseling and discipline, etc.
• Coordinates lay-off activities of campuses for classified service employees.
• Assists the Assistant and Associate Vice Chancellors of Employee Relations on special tasks and projects as required.

Requirements:

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Admittance to the NYS Bar
• Minimum of 2-3 years' experience practicing public sector labor law in New York State

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience working in a unionized environment

Additional Information:

• Salary is dependent on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, experience, education, training, and certifications. The range for this position is $90,000-$110,000.
• Excellent Benefit Package which includes: NYS health insurance, free dental and vision coverage, competitive retirement options, tuition assistance, parental leave at full pay, and generous vacation, sick, and holiday time. 13 days of paid holidays per year; 21 days of vacation and 21 days of sick time accrued each year. Please see our Management/Confidential benefits summary for additional information.
• This position will be based in Albany.
• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. VISA sponsorship is not available for this position.
• This is an FLSA exempt position. Frequent travel to the 29 state operated SUNY campuses is required.

SUNY System Administration Benefits

SUNY System Administration provides an outstanding and comprehensive benefits package to support you and your family through the many life changes you may experience while you work for SUNY. Our nationally recognized benefits include:

Retirement: The choice between a fully funded pension plan and a self-driven defined contribution plan, along with two supplemental plans to increase your ability to save for retirement.

Health Insurance: Several health insurance options at an affordable cost that provide full coverage without mandatory deductibles.

Time Off: Paid time off with separate vacation and sick leave accruals up to 21 days a year for each category.

Additional paid leave policy options for childbirth, adoption, elder care, and other family care situations.

Flexible Working Arrangements: Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid schedules, are available depending on position.

Explore our full benefits offerings here: www.suny.edu/benefits

Application Instructions:

Interested candidates are invited to apply online. Please submit a cover letter, resume and four professional references when applying. The review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

State University of New York System Administration is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, familial status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, criminal conviction, or retaliation.

Job Posting: Professional Staff Congress Executive Director

 Professional Staff Congress,

AFT Local 2334

Executive Director

Based in New York City

The Professional Staff Congress/CUNY, AFT Local 2334 is seeking applications from qualified union executive managers for the position of Executive Director.

The Professional Staff Congress, AFT Local 2334, is a progressive, member-driven activist union representing 30,000 faculty and staff at the City University of New York. Providing a collaborative, supportive environment to foster progressive change in the context of the nation’s largest urban public university, the PSC opposes the austerity funding model for CUNY as a university that serves primarily low-income communities and communities of color. 

The PSC is seeking a passionate, determined, ethical, experienced, and progressive Executive Director who is eager to work collaboratively with elected union leadership and lead a committed staff as they serve union members and campaign for the needs of members, and CUNY students. The Executive Director works closely with PSC officers to carry out the union’s programs and decisions and runs the day-to-day operations of the union. 

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES (not a complete list of duties)

• Work closely with principal officers on a daily basis and provide advice and guidance to PSC leadership at all levels.
• Manage the operation of the PSC office and activities.
• Carryout the decisions and plans of PSC leadership.
• Manage all aspects of supervising PSC staff - hiring, training, delegation; accountability and mentoring; and bargain staff union contracts.
• Coordinate PSC contract, issue-based, political, and legislative campaigns.
• Participate in contract negotiations and ensure timely and correct implementation of PSC collective bargaining agreements.
• Oversee PSC research, communications, and collective bargaining.
• Work with the Treasurer and Director of finance to prepare and oversee budgets and maintain responsibility for the daily fiscal affairs of the PSC.
• Manage contracts with landlord and service providers.
• Represent the PSC in meetings with CUNY and Research Foundation management and other organizations as directed by PSC leadership.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrated ability to successfully perform the duties described above.
• Significant number of years (10 –15) in progressively responsible leadership roles in a labor union or related organization- including at least 5 years running an organization or a sizable department.
• Proven track record of balancing and administering a budget.
• Demonstrated success in mentoring and training department directors and senior staff.
• At least 5 years’ experience negotiating and/or administering labor contracts.
• Demonstrated experience working collaboratively with elected union leaders.
• Experience in public sector unions highly desirable.
• Experience in labor and/or higher education policy and budget analysis. 
• Excellent project management, strategy development and campaign planning skills

EDUCATION & OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Baccalaureate required; advanced degree in appropriate field a plus.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

For this role, PSC/CUNY offers a competitive salary package with the hiring range of $170,000 – $210,000 depending on experience, excellent benefits, including family medical and dental coverage, generous paid time off and a pension.

This is a nationwide search, but we value candidates with experience in public sector labor in the New York metropolitan area. If you are excited about this role and feel that you can contribute to the organization, but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply.

The PSC is committed to creating a diverse environment and strives to achieve equity for all as we work towards economic, racial, and social justice. We particularly encourage women, people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ and working-class folks to apply. 

HOW TO APPLY

Job is open until filled. Apply as soon as possible to be considered in the first review. Applications must be in no later than October 31, 2025.

Email your résumé and cover letter explaining your interest in working with PSC and how your experience and qualifications have prepared you for the Executive Director role to: 

Kim Cook Union Search Associate kim.cook1956@gmail.com

Job Posting: University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations Assistant Professor in Labor Economics

Assistant Professor in Labor Economics, School of Labor and Employment Relations

Job Summary

The School of Labor and Employment Relations (LER) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Labor Economics within the Graduate Faculty. LER is a dynamic, multidisciplinary unit with a faculty united by a shared commitment to cutting-edge research on workforce issues. This position is a joint appointment with LER (75%) and the Department of Economics (25%) in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. We are especially interested in candidates with expertise in labor economics, personnel economics, or industrial relations.

The responsibilities of the Assistant Professor include:

(a) conducting and publishing high-quality research;

(b) developing and teaching graduate and undergraduate courses each semester in face-to-face or online formats, depending on the School’s instructional needs;

(c) mentoring and supervising PhD students, as appropriate; and

(d) providing service to the School, the University, and the profession, as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Applicants must hold a doctoral degree in Economics, or closely related field, or expect to receive the PhD before the starting date of employment.

Appointment Information

This is a 100% full-time Academic position, appointed on a 9-month basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible after 8/16/2026. Salary range is $155,000.00-$170,000.00 (plus summer support). 

Application Procedures & Deadline Information

To ensure full consideration, please submit the following:

• A statement that addresses your interest in serving as a tenure-track Assistant Professor including your research and teaching statements.
• A CV.
• Research papers (including a job market paper) and sample publications (if available).
• Three references, including names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers.

Applications must be received by 6:00 pm (Central Time) on November 15, 2025. Apply for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this posting. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered. Interviews may be conducted before the closing date, although no hiring decisions will be made until after the search has closed. For further information about this specific position, please contact Associate Professor Andrew Weaver at aweaver5@illinois.edu. For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.

The University of Illinois offers a very competitive benefits portfolio, depending on the position. Click for a complete list of Employee Benefits.