IC Adjuncts Submit Petition for Union Vote

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Ithaca.com

By Melissa Whitworth

On April 15 part-time faculty members at Ithaca College took the next step towards creating their own union. Buoyed by overwhelming support from full-time teaching staff, tenured professors and students alike, the group—now affiliated with Adjunct Action, a project of Service Employees International Union (SEIU)—filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board asking to hold a union election.

Within the next month a configuration of interested parties will vote on whether to unionize. Labor law is notoriously complicated: There will be a hearing process between the workers and administration, which the National Labor Relations Board will facilitate. The discussion will decide who gets to vote. Simply put, if the majority votes “yes” part-time faculty members get a union.

The 10-plus organizing committee of adjunct lecturers and teachers was informed the day following filing of their petition that the college had hired Syracuse law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King to represent them in the next step.

That hire raised eyebrows among some of those involved in the unionizing process.

FULL story at link.


Provided
Rachel Kaufman


Read more: http://www.ithaca.com/news/ic-adjuncts-submit-petition-for-union-vote/article_0924b2d0-e8e9-11e4-b056-ef5e8261c4d6.html

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Surprise surprise they hired an anti-union law firm!

[mike_c]

1. colleges and unversities are getting real familiar with "lawyering up..."

...with anti-labor law firms to prevent workers from getting fair representation and good contracts. This is a direct consequence of their moving to corporate business models in higher education.

[potone]

2. Indeed it is.

My university had a bruising fight over the faculty contract last year. Basically the administration tried to gut the Union (AAUP) from being able to enforce its provisions regarding job security, as well as keeping Faculty wages disgracefully low. Only at the 11th hour before a strike began did the administration back down. So just because you get a Union does not mean the fight is over, but it's a start. The way that higher education is going in this country, all faculty need to be part of a union. This is especially true for adjunct faculty, whose pay is abysmally low.