FAQ for Contingent Faculty

FAQ for Contingent Faculty Many contingent faculty members have asked what the University s position is regarding the possible formation of a contingent faculty union at Saint Martin s under the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). For reasons expressed for some time now, and detailed below, University leadership and administration oppose SEIU s efforts to represent a contingent faculty union at Saint Martin s. In reaching this conclusion, we weighed the answers to three core questions: (1) would SEIU be good for the quality of our education? (2) would SEIU be good for our students? (3) would SEIU be good for our faculty? This FAQ document addresses our answers to those pivotal questions and provides more detail explaining why we oppose this unionizing campaign. What is the University s Position on a Contingent Faculty Union? Q1: Why is the University s leadership and administration opposed to SEIU s union organizing efforts? A: First, SEIU, even more than other labor unions, typically takes a very adversarial and confrontational approach to collective bargaining and we believe this approach will radically change our campus culture. Second, we do not believe that inserting a third party representative between Saint Martin s and our contingent faculty will result in any material economic gain for our contingent faculty, or even a gain that would be sufficient to offset the significant cost to our contingent faculty of having to pay union dues, or agency fees. Third, we believe that our existing collaborative process that has led to initiatives already under way is a far better approach toward addressing faculty issues at Saint Martin s. Q2: Does that make the Administration anti union? A: No. We understand and agree that unions have an appropriate place in American society. In this specific situation, however, we do not support this particular union s attempt to organize 1

our contingent faculty and we do not believe that unionizing is the best way forward for our faculty and our unique community. Q3. What are we trying to preserve at Saint Martin s? A: All faculty at Saint Martin s whether contingent or tenure track pursue our craft in a collegial environment. To us, the life of the mind is a profession, a craft, and a vocation. We do not see any appreciation for the life of the mind in the materials published by SEIU or in its history. The approach it has taken at other institutions reflects a very different and adversarial approach. It is sad to think of the prospect of our campus and our profession as a battleground for groups forced into conflicting positions. Our culture at Saint Martin s is one of rigorous inquiry, conversation, and care for one another. Members of our faculty have been working very hard on policies and positions that will continue to strengthen the respect with which we view our contingent faculty colleagues. Having an outside organization that does not understand our University would not foster collaboration, advance our mission, or uphold our values. Who is SEIU? Q4: Who is SEIU and what do they do? A: We encourage you to do your own independent research about SEIU. You might read the results of a Google search (keywords SEIU bargaining tactics ) about SEIU s bargaining with the private employer Sodexo on college campuses or with the non profit healthcare system Kaiser Permanente in California. Much has been written about these topics from many perspectives, but a consistent theme in all these cases is a very adversarial and confrontational approach by SEIU. This adversarial stance is completely at odds with the culture of community and collaboration that makes Saint Martin s a historically welcoming, engaging work environment for all members. When you do your own research, ask yourself whether SEIU s adversarial approach will be helpful or harmful to Saint Martin s faculty, staff and students. Q5: How could this approach impact Saint Martin s? A: We see many possible negatives and no positives from this approach. If the union wins the election, our community will no longer be unified. We have also seen no evidence to suggest that this approach by SEIU can improve the quality of teaching and learning; in fact, we think it will hurt the quality of the education we provide to our students. Q6: Does SEIU understand Saint Martin s? 2

A: No. SEIU, a union founded and still focused primarily on healthcare sector service workers, routinely refers to faculty as workers and the administration as management. In our view they do not understand the collaborative process by which academic decisions are made at Saint Martin s. Our faculty are not service employees; they are valued members of the academy whose input is vital to the success of Saint Martin s on every front. In the recent NLRB election hearing, SEIU argued as if all contingent faculty are the same, thereby disrespecting the unique differences that exist among our several different contingent faculty communities whose needs and expectations may be different. Perhaps worst of all, SEIU also argued that there is no difference in impact for our faculty and community between Saint Martin s mission in upholding our core Catholic Benedictine identity and values and the mission statement of any other university and that there are no unique qualities that set us apart from any other school and that all faculty are simply workers. There has been no recognition of the unique qualities that make Saint Martin s the special place that it is or the special role that faculty play in ensuring and leading initiatives which result in student success. Q7: But won t contingent faculty get more money if SEIU comes in? A: No, not necessarily. Voting in a union only requires a negotiation. The results of that negotiation could be the same, worse or better than what contingent faculty have now. It would depend on individual circumstances and the outcome of negotiation. This is particularly true in this current situation at Saint Martin s where the NLRB has combined a wide range of different contingent faculty groups into the same bargaining unit. No one can promise or guarantee how this negotiation would turn out. Although some who are pushing the union effort seem to think there is a hidden pot of money available for contingent faculty, it is just not true. However, there is a new University initiative already underway to enhance faculty compensation, and all faculty tenure line and contingent would benefit. Having a union contributes nothing to that University initiative that began well before SEIU came on the scene, and having a union does not guarantee anything except the requirement that contingent faculty pay union dues (or agency fees in lieu of dues). How Would Collective Bargaining Work at Saint Martin s How Might It Affect the Way We Make Decisions, and, What Kind of Dues Might Our Faculty Have to Pay? Q8: What happens if there is a union? A: Wages, hours and working conditions will be determined through collective bargaining 3

between a union and the University administration rather than handled through our shared governance system. As stated above, there is no guarantee that having a union means more money or improved benefits for contingent faculty. Bargaining could mean more, less or the same compensation as contingent faculty would receive without bargaining. Most academic studies show no significant difference in pay and benefits with or without a union, and certainly not a large enough gain to offset the cost of union dues. Q9: How does collective bargaining work? A: Collective bargaining is another term for a negotiation. If SEIU becomes the legal bargaining representative for contingent faculty, then Saint Martin s representatives would meet with the union to negotiate over wages and other terms of employment. While both parties have an obligation to bargain in good faith, neither party has an obligation to accept any specific terms. There is no hidden pot of money available for contingent faculty. Saint Martin s University would have to be certain that the pay and benefits for contingent faculty agreed to in negotiation is in the University s long term best interest. This is exactly what we do now. There is no reason to believe that this would be any different with a union. One reason we oppose the contingent faculty union is that we do not believe that the collective bargaining process will benefit our faculty. It is certainly not, in our view, worth the dues SEIU will charge or the battlefield campus climate that SEIU typically creates. We also expect significant changes to the way we make decisions on academic policies. Q10: How will collective bargaining work for the different contingent faculty classifications? A: We don t know. Saint Martin s contingent faculty range from those who teach full time and receive benefits to faculty who teach on a per course basis. They all teach is the union s argument as to why these diverse groups should be combined into one unit, ignoring the differences in the needs and expectations of our contingent faculty. This aligns with their view that all faculty are simply workers. Q11: What would a union contract contain? A: Voting in a union only requires a negotiation. It does not require the two sides to agree to any particular terms. A union contract, if one was successfully negotiated, would speak to wages, hours and working conditions for contingent faculty. There is no guarantee and no one can promise what specific provisions a union contract would contain. There will almost certainly be a provision requiring that all contingent faculty pay union dues, with most of our faculty likely paying hundreds of dollars per year. See the information below on union dues. Q12: If SEIU is voted in, can a contingent faculty member opt out? A: No. If SEIU is voted in, then it becomes the legal bargaining representative for all contingent faculty. Saint Martin s University is required by law to only deal with SEIU on wages, hours and 4

working conditions for all contingent faculty. There is no way for any individual contingent faculty member to opt out. Q13: If SEIU is voted in, will contingent faculty have to pay union dues? A: Almost certainly, yes. Unions always demand in bargaining a clause that requires all covered employees (here, all contingent faculty) to join the union and pay dues. Faculty members who refuse to join the union can still be required to pay a "fair share" or "agency fee to cover SEIU s collective bargaining costs. Q14: How much are union dues? A: Based on the dues SEIU charges contingent faculty at other places, dues are likely to be 1.5 2.0% of the person s annual salary at Saint Martin s. A person teaching two semesters, three courses per semester at Saint Martin s on a course by course basis could pay as much as $360 per year. As each contingent faculty member considers how to vote, you might ask: What can I get for hundreds of dollars per year that I can t already get for free by participating in the collaborative process already in place at Saint Martin s University and as attention to work life and compensation that began this year continues? Q15: Does SEIU have its own interests in negotiation? A: Yes. At the top of the list of the union s priorities will be a contract requirement that all contingent faculty join the union and pay union dues. Experience has shown that unions make this clause their highest priority in negotiations. Unions have even traded away better pay for their members in exchange for a requirement that everyone has to join the union and pay dues. This clause benefits the union monetarily in significant ways, not our faculty. Experience suggests that SEIU will have little regard for individual faculty at the expense of the union s own corporate interests. Q16: How might the presence of a union affect future decision making? A: As in a unionized manufacturing environment, the union, SEIU, would become the legal representative of our contingent faculty. We would have to bargain with the union on all matters involving wages, hours and working conditions. SEIU would have the legal authority to make decisions on behalf of our contingent faculty. This raises two concerns for us. First, individual contingent faculty could no longer negotiate contracts or terms of employment with her/his dean or chair. Instead, by law, those discussions must be with SEIU and then only between University representatives and SEIU. We would lose collegiality and flexibility and the ability to communicate directly with each other on vital issues such as work life. Second, we envision the need to centralize decision making in order to manage the academic program under a union contract. If there is a single contract covering all contingent faculty, 5

deans and chairs will likely have significantly less discretion than they do now with regard to staffing the curriculum, for example. While we cannot predict how bargaining would come out, the most likely scenarios we see would require the University s central administration to manage the union contract, not deans and chairs. Q17: How else might the presence of a contingent faculty union cause a shift in decision making away from faculty, deans and chairs, and toward the central administration in setting policies? A: The Faculty in Senate or through their committees could no longer make decisions covering all faculty. Working conditions, such as office hours, office space, and perhaps many other academic policies that affect all faculty, could no longer be decided by faculty leaders for all faculty. Most universities don t have the kind of faculty engagement in setting policy that we have at Saint Martin s University. In fact, our system of shared governance is both strong and rare, and the union does not understand it. We have a collegial community, and when problems arise we talk through them and work them out within our system of shared governance. Tearing that system apart into separate pieces will bring about a major change in our faculty culture and the way we conduct business, and it is not clear that there is an upside for anyone on the faculty, either contingent or regular. The union s instincts are to be adversarial; our instincts are to be collaborative. An adversarial, divided, multi track system will damage our collegiality and hamper open communication among faculty, and between contingent faculty and their chair or dean. That will not help anyone. What Efforts Has Saint Martin s Made to Improve Contingent Faculty Work Life? How Would Unionization Impact These Efforts? Q18. Has Saint Martin s made any effort to improve contingent faculty salaries and work life? A: Yes, and the process started long before the SEIU launched its organizing campaign. Earlier this year, contingent faculty salaries were raised by the Provost who worked with faculty leaders to do this despite the fact that our overall enrollment was lower than budgeted and despite the fact that our budgets were tight. Contingent Faculty in the School of Business and the Hal and Inge Marcus School of Engineering are now paid $3000 per 3 credit course. Contingent Faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and the College of Education and Counseling Psychology (CECP) now get paid a minimum of $2520. The determination, as this change was implemented, was that all CAS and CECP faculty would next get raised to $2750 and 6

then to $3000 so that would be on a par with their peers in the Schools of Business and Engineering. We would then address increasing the standard rate of $3000 in subsequent years. The Provost has been working towards this shift because she and the University felt it was necessary to make these advances, but this process is currently stalled. Please note that these efforts were begun because we believe that we must make them and we continue to believe that we must continue to attend to the welfare of our community, to the work life and compensation of all members, regular and contingent faculty as well as staff. Q19: What s being done now to enhance shared governance when it comes to contingent faculty? A. University leaders believe that contingent faculty need to be represented in Senate and have urged regular faculty to make this possible. We also believe that a contingent faculty representative should join key committees, such as the Budget Committee. As we discuss community work life and welfare, we know that contingent faculty need to be part of the conversation. Q20: What were the initiatives underway prior to the union filing its petition? A: There were three: (a) a faculty driven initiative aimed at improving compensation for all faculty that led to a Board of Trustees resolution; (b) a faculty driven initiative with the Provost that led to a first step in increasing and standardizing contingent faculty salaries, which takes effect in 2016 17; and (c) efforts to bring the contingent faculty together, which began with the creation and distribution of a Contingent Faculty Guide, and was to be followed by College/School gatherings organized by deans. Whether we can continue with steps that were well underway to address the concerns of our contingent faculty prior to the union filing its petition will depend on the union election. Q21: Is there a plan in place to improve faculty compensation? A: Yes. In February 2016, as a result of a faculty initiative, the Board of Trustees committed to improving faculty and staff compensation. The adoption of the resolution was a historic step for the Board to take, and it culminates the work of the Faculty and Staff Welfare Committees in bringing this issue to the highest levels. Our success in implementing a plan evolved by these committees and improving compensation for all faculty will depend on our ability to create new sources of revenue. This initiative is moving forward, and everyone will benefit if we are successful. A union will not change this, but a union will add costs to doing business. Q22: Would a union help with this plan to improve compensation? 7

A: No. The union will do nothing to help us put this plan in place. The union will not help us raise new revenue; in fact the costs associated with the collective bargaining process will drain University resources away from this initiative. Union dues will offset the positive effects of salary increases for our contingent faculty. The union will not improve the quality of our education, nor will it help improve faculty compensation. Q23: With a union, who would speak for the University on matters pertaining to contingent faculty, and how would this impact faculty driven initiatives for contingent faculty? A: University representatives selected by the President would speak for the University in bargaining over contingent faculty issues. The authority to speak for the University on these issues (to bargain ) would fall to selected representatives, not the Welfare or other committees and certainly not to regular faculty or individual contingent faculty. Individual divisions, schools, or task forces could not pursue the kind of contingent faculty initiatives that were underway but are now on hold because those matters would instead be bargained between the administration and the union. Q24: What s going to happen to the progress already achieved for contingent faculty? A: We d like to move forward on the processes we began, but whether we can or not will depend on the outcome of the union election. If the union wins, our system of shared governance will end abruptly on all matters pertaining to contingent faculty and we enter a new and unpredictable era of collective bargaining. If the union loses, we pick up where we left off before we were interrupted by the union petition. Q25: What is the process from here? What is the Process for the Upcoming Election? A: On May 27, 2016, the NLRB will mail ballots to the contingent faculty who are eligible to vote (see the University s website, www.stmartin.edu/unionization efforts, for a list). Q26: When is the election, how will it be conducted, who will be affected, and who can vote? A: The results of the union election will be determined by the majority of votes cast. Ballots must be returned (not just postmarked) to NLRB no later than June 17 at 2:00 pm. All contingent faculty will be affected by the outcome of the vote regardless of whether they voted or were eligible to vote under the rules of voter eligibility established by the NLRB. There is no ability to opt out if the union wins the election. Again, the list of eligible voters and the criteria for eligibility that NLRB used in creating the list are posted on the University s website 8

at www.stmartin.edu/unionization efforts. Q27. Why is the election being held now instead of in the fall? A. Because that is what SEIU requested and the NLRB granted its request. We believe SEIU s self interest is noticeable in its opposition to conducting the election at the start of the fall semester when more contingent faculty are around and teaching. Our summer sessions, as you know, are small, and many of us are away during summer. Saint Martin s argued for maximum participation by contingent faculty in the vote because we want all voices to be heard. SEIU, on the other hand, insisted on a quick election in which few participate and make a decision for all contingent faculty. SEIU s main concern is not in having every voice heard but in winning a quick election in which a small number of active union supporters may decide the outcome for everyone. If SEIU genuinely believes that unionization is a good idea for contingent faculty, it would have agreed to an election in September with every contingent faculty member able to vote rather than in May June with a much smaller pool of available voters. Q28. Were members of the Abbey who are contingent faculty excluded by SEIU from the bargaining unit? If so, why? A. The union contends that any member of the Benedictine Order should be excluded from the bargaining unit, but they have not articulated their reasoning as to why that should be. Saint Martin s argued strongly against such an exclusion which could prevent the monks of St. Martin s Abbey and the nuns of St. Placid Priory from exercising their religious faith in the way they see fit. The NLRB s Regional Director refused to decide the issue before the election, ruling that excluded monks or nuns would be allowed to vote only subject to challenge by the union. Q29. How will the election be decided? A. Like any political election, the outcome will be decided by a majority of the votes actually cast. If only 20 people vote, and 11 vote for the union, then all contingent faculty will be represented by the union. We strongly encourage 100% voter participation. We are encouraging all eligible contingent faculty to vote so the result reflects a true consensus. It is important that you mail your ballot back to the NLRB. The election is by secret ballot so no one will know how you vote. The University s website (www.stmartin.edu/unionization efforts) contains a great deal of information to help you make this important decision. We will continue to update that information and provide answers to questions posed by faculty during the voting period. We are certain that the union will lobby for your vote. Above all, we want you to make an informed decision. We want you to do your own research and to have conversations with your chair, your dean or another trusted colleague. If they cannot provide the information you need, let us 9

know and we will get it to you. Our goal in this process is to provide factual information so that you can decide for yourself what is in your best interest and in the best interest of Saint Martin s University. Remember that the results of the election will affect every contingent faculty member. We hope that each and every one of you who is eligible to vote will do so and make your voice heard! 10