Article on Unionization Forum

OU Faculty Members Address Unionization Concerns at Forum (Athens News)

This article describes an informational forum held on 10/28 by AAUP-OU. Leading the discussion was AAUP Associate Secretary Pat Shaw, OU AAUP chapter Vice President Marsha Dutton, and two head negotiators from Wright State University’s collective-bargaining chapter of the AAUP. The article addresses issues such as Group II inclusion in the bargaining unit, union dues, and details about the card drive.

Evaluating Shared Governance

On September 8th, Faculty Senate called upon the faculty to organize themselves into a collective bargaining unit for the purpose of instituting meaningful shared governance. Most people would agree that meaningful shared governance is built upon cooperation, mutual trust, and respect between the faculty, the administration, and the Board of Trustees.

Just how dysfunctional is shared governance at Ohio University? The following questions (adapted from a monograph entitled "Assessing the Faculty's Role in Shared Governance") can help us decide. Each question can be answered with a "yes" or "no." Several "no" answers should be cause for serious concern.

Are negotiations and communications among the faculty and the administration open and carried out in good faith and in an atmosphere of trust?

Does the faculty have timely access to information necessary for faculty members to give input into governance processes?

Does the Board of Trustees respect and support the faculty's traditional role in institutional governance?

Does the President seek meaningful faculty input on those issues (such as budgeting) in which the faculty has an appropriate interest but not primary responsibility?

Does the President effectively advocate the principles of shared governance to the Board of Trustees?

Does the University recognize joint responsibility for decision making in the areas of long range planning, necessary resources, and budgeting?

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Creative Incentives in KSU Contract

Who says collective bargaining agreements need to be boring? Kent State has proven that creative agreements can be reached between universities and unions. For example, according to their contract,

"Starting in the 2009-2010 academic year, an additional bonus pool, designed to allow faculty to share in University success, will be established. The Success Pool may provide faculty with annual bonuses based upon the University’s ability to achieve certain goals. Three measures will contribute to the Success Pool: funded research, student retention, and funds raised in institutional development."

That's right...Kent State Faculty have negotiated an agreement in which they will share in the success of the University. If the University reaches its goals, faculty will receive cash bonuses. Here's an example based on funded research. For FY2008, KSU generated $32 million in grant funds. If during FY2009 KSU generates $35 million in grant funds, the University will pay $300,000 into a Bonus Pool (i.e., 10% of the $3 million increase). Those funds would be distributed evenly among each continuing member of the bargaining unit. Check out KSU's contract for more information. The "Success Pool" program is described in Article XII (Section 4-D), and Addendum E provides examples of how the bonus pool is calculated.

So what's the take-home message? Our contract can be creative, it can extend well beyond our Faculty Handbook, and it can include new programs that the faculty and the administration will find interesting.

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Must Everyone Join the Union?

No, but it's likely that everyone covered under the agreement will pay their "fair share" of the costs.

From what I understand, fair share arrangements must be negotiated by the union and the university, and the final agreement must be ratified by the members of the bargaining unit. Fair share agreements require that all members of the bargaining unit (whether they join the union or not) pay their fair share of dues to the union.

Here's the basic premise...A negotiated agreement covers everyone in a bargaining unit, so everyone in the unit will enjoy the benefits of union representation. For example, if a non-union professor is fired and requests union representation in a grievance, the union must represent the professor as it would a union member. That said, all in the unit should pay their fair share to help defray the costs associated with collective bargaining and union representation.

According to the AAUP-OU Web site, it's likely that union members would pay roughly 0.75% of their salary in union dues, while non-members would likely pay 0.55% as a fair share.

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Open Forum on Unionization

According the Ken Brown, "The OU AAUP chapter will sponsor an open forum on unionization next Tuesday, Oct. 28, from 2:00 to 4:00 in Baker 242. Representatives from AAUP organized campuses in Ohio will be present to answer questions regarding the unionization process, contract negotiation, life after unionization, etc." According to a flyer distributed by Joe Bernt, the forum will focus "...on what changes occur on Ohio university campuses when faculty choose collective bargaining under the auspices of their local chapter of the American Association of University Professors"

In other news...

BGSU Faculty Look Into Forming Union (The BG News)
What a strange coincidence. According to an AAUP-OU Collective Bargaining FAQ sheet, faculty at 9 out of the 13 state universities in Ohio have moved to collective bargaining. Maybe OU and BGSU will be numbers 10 and 11. Why are the majority of state universities in Ohio unionized? Why should OU move to collective bargaining? If you can help the rest of us better understand the benefits of unionization, please post a comment and share your insight.

This blog allows users to comment ANONYMOUSLY. No login is required. Please share your insight as well as your questions, comments, and concerns.

Who's Included in the Bargaining Unit?

Good question. The State Employment Relations Board (SERB) administers the Ohio Public Employees’ Collective Bargaining Act, which appears to be defined via the Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4117 and the Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 4117. According to ORC 4117.06,

(A) The state employment relations board (SERB) shall decide in each case the unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. The determination is final and conclusive and not appealable to the court.

(B) The board shall determine the appropriateness of each bargaining unit and shall consider among other relevant factors: the desires of the employees; the community of interest; wages, hours, and other working conditions of the public employees; the effect of over-fragmentation; the efficiency of operations of the public employer; the administrative structure of the public employer; and the history of collective bargaining.

To read the rest of this section, visit http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4117.06

For additional information about the Ohio Public Employees’ Collective Bargaining Act, visit...
ORC Chapter 4117: Public Employees' Collective Bargaining
OAC Chapter 4117: State Employment Relations Board

If you have more information about this topic, or if you have questions/concerns, please post a comment!

Unions Don't Change Workloads

Existing Ohio Colleges Show Unions Don’t Change Workloads (The Post)
Letter to the editor by Tom Daniels, Professor of Communication Studies. Joe Bernt and Tom Daniels have been trading comments regarding how collective bargaining agreements affect faculty workloads.

Where Would My Union Dues Go?

Good question. According the the AAUP, "The lion’s share of members’ dollars stays on campus..." Below is more info, quoted from the AAUP's national Web site.

In union affairs, as in purely academic matters, the site for academic freedom is the local campus (and in some states, a system made up of local campuses). In the context of the American labor movement, the AAUP’s local collective bargaining chapters are unusual in their autonomy. Members of each AAUP chapter decide their priorities for themselves. They determine what is best under their particular circumstances. The AAUP strives to avoid a model of “service unionism,” where the union becomes essentially an outside grievance agent or a third-party provider hired to do things for the members.

The AAUP encourages an alternative model in which local union members do as much as possible for themselves. While the national AAUP staff provides training and support, most of the day-to-day work of our unions is performed by chapter employees or by members serving as volunteers or during release time won in the collective bargaining agreement. If there is a staff, it is hired directly by the chapter. The AAUP’s commitment to local autonomy is reflected in our dues structure and governs our allocation of resources. AAUP collective bargaining chapters enjoy the benefits of a local retention of dues. The lion’s share of members’ dollars stays on campus; a small portion supports the national Association’s work in extending academic freedom throughout the nation. The national Association’s reputation in this arena is a vital contribution to all local chapters.

Trustees Propose Limiting Public Speech

Proposal Limits Trustees From Speaking Publicly (The Post)
A new Board of Trustees proposal would prohibit individual members from speaking for the board and criticizing the president publicly.

FYI...The Board of Trustees is comprised of nine voting members, two ex-officio National Trustees, two ex-officio Student Trustees, and a representative of the Alumni Association Board. FACULTY ARE NOT REPRESENTED. Would a collective bargaining agreement change things? It might. The following language can be found in the agreement between the University of Cincinnati and the AAUP:

Faculty representation on the Board...shall include the chairperson of the University Faculty Senate and two elected representatives of the University Faculty. They shall have the right to suggest proposals for consideration by the Board and the President, and to attend with voice, all meetings of the Board, except executive sessions, and Board committees including academic affairs and finance. (Section M.2)

If you have questions/concerns, please post a comment!

Post Editorial Endorses Union

Post Editorial: Union Needed (The Post)
This editorial endorses unionization efforts, stating that "unionization would be a healthy step forward from the current ineffectual system of shared governance...Administrators have distanced faculty from the real decision-making for too long. If faculty members are not granted some influence in important proceedings then they must unionize and seize it for themselves."

AAUP Secretary Rebuts Naysayers (The Post)
Letter to the editor by Joseph Bernt, professor of journalism and secretary of the OU AAUP chapter. Bernt addresses the comments/criticisms raised by Robert Shelly and Tom Daniels in recent letters to the editor published in The Post.

If you have questions/concerns, please post a comment!

Searching for Shared Governance

In Search of Self-Governance, Unionization? (Inside Higher Ed)
This article, written by Elizabeth Redden, touches upon several issues regarding OU's unionization efforts. However, I believe the quote it contains from Faculty Senate chair, Sergio López-Permouth, sums up OU's situation pretty well, "I’m hearing strong voices on both sides of the issue {of collective bargaining}...{yet}nobody has said things are fine.... Nobody’s happy with the status quo."

Faculty Senate Takes Big Step Toward Forming Union (The Athens NEWS)
Article discusses OU's unionization efforts, including departments that tend to support or oppose the idea.

Trustees Plan to Spend $35,000 on an Evaluation That’s Too Late (The Post)
Post Editorial that discusses the "disguise of shared governance" at OU.

Union Would Not Determine Workload (The Post)
Letter to the editor by Tom Daniels, Professor of Communication Studies.

Faculty Salaries Depend on Age (The Post)
Letter to the editor by Robert Shelly, Professor of Sociology.

If you have questions/concerns, please post a comment!

Education About Unionization Begins

The following memo was sent to all Group I and Group II faculty via email on 10/16/08. It was written by Marsha L. Dutton, Professor of English and VP of OU-AAUP.

Dear Colleagues,

As you probably know, on Monday night the Faculty Senate voted to support the resolution calling for the OU faculty to begin the process of organizing into a collective bargaining unit. Here is the language of the approved resolution:

Be it resolved that the Faculty Senate of Ohio University calls upon the faculty to begin the process of organizing themselves into a collective bargaining unit for the purpose of negotiating a contractual agreement with the university, instituting meaningful shared governance, to which the university administration would be bound by law.

Faculty Senators' discussion before their Monday vote indicated our faculty does not unanimously support collecting bargaining. Much of this hesitance surely arises because, as some Senators noted, right now everyone knows too little about what it might mean—how the process would work, how the bargaining unit would be constituted, what kinds of things could be negotiated, and how collective bargaining would concretely affect the lives of faculty members.

During the next month and a half, before the end of fall quarter, the OU-AAUP chapter will host several public meetings to allow such questions to be posed and discussed. Faculty members from other Ohio campuses with collective bargaining will be present to discuss their experience and to answer specific questions. We will announce these meetings widely.

If it is not possible to attend one of the meetings, or if you have questions or comments before then, members of the OU-AAUP executive committee would be happy to hear from you and talk with you. Our president, Prof. Kevin Uhalde (kevin.uhalde@gmail.com), is teaching an undergraduate history class in Rome this quarter but will respond to emails. Besides me (mdmldutton@gmail.com), the other members of the executive committee are Prof. Mike Nern (nern@ohio.edu), (Prof. Joe Bernt (joseph.bernt@gmail.com) and Prof. John Gilliom (gilliom@ohio.edu).

The first step in the process leading toward collective bargaining involves faculty members signing cards that indicate the desire to hold a vote on the question. Those who sign cards can mail them to a post office box rented by Prof. Ken Brown, the only person who will know that a faculty member supports an election. When 50 to 60 percent of Group I and Group II faculty members on the Athens and regional campuses have signed cards, Prof. Brown will forward them to the State Employment Relations Board (SERB), which will validate the signatures. If at least 30 percent of those who signed are indeed Group I and Group II faculty, SERB will conduct an election at which faculty may vote for or against collective bargaining. If 50 percent plus one of those who vote cast yes votes, collective bargaining will take effect.

Clearly we are a long way from all of that at this point, but we are planning to mail the cards to Group I and Group II faculty in a month or so—after there has been more opportunity for people to think about the question, to talk with one another about it, to research the effect of university collective bargaining at other Ohio campuses, and to attend the meetings we are hosting. In the meantime, however, I have cards available for anyone who wishes to sign at once. If you contact me, I will get a card to you, along with the address for mailing it to the secure post office box. I also want to assure you that every step preceding and, if approved, following establishment of a collective bargaining unit is based on democratic principles; this includes signing cards, voting on the question, electing representatives, determining the content of any collective bargaining agreement, and approving that contract and future agreements.

In response to Monday's vote, President McDavis has pledged his commitment to collegiality. That commitment was welcome and encouraging, for collegiality is the goal of all of us who have devoted our lives to teaching and learning. Collective bargaining offers one avenue to collegiality among members of the faculty, administration, and board of trustees—a collegiality many of us believe has been missing for some time. We invite you to join us in learning more about the process during the next few months.

Sincerely yours,

Marsha L. Dutton
Professor of English
Vice President, Ohio University Chapter
American Association of University Professors

Business Faculty Don't Dig Unions

I hate to stereotype, but it seems as if business people genuinely dislike unions. These two guys asked some reasonable questions, though. How much will I pay in dues? How will the funds be spent? What value will I get for my dues? To what extent can shared governance be covered by a collective bargaining agreement? Some of their questions/concerns are addressed in AAUP-OU's Collective Bargaining FAQ
sheet.

Questions about the Benefits of a Union (The Athens NEWS)
Letter to the editor by Chris Moberg, Chair of the Marketing Department.

Union Will Cost $$$ Over Next 20 Years (The Athens NEWS)
Letter to the editor by Raymond Frost, Professor of Management Information Systems.

If you can address their questions/concerns, please post a comment!

Collective Bargaining Can Bring Social Change

Union Could be Tool for Social Change (The Post)
This letter, signed by 30+ students, argues that the administration and the Board see themselves as unchallenged dictators over the campus hierarchy. They argue that a union can bring social democracy to campus.

Unionization Process Begins

Senate Supports Collective Bargaining (The Columbus Dispatch)
While Ohio University's Faculty Senate threw its support behind an effort to unionize the school's professors, school leadership downplayed the vote last night.

Faculty Senate: Unionization Urged But Nothing Finalized (The Post)
Faculty Senate called on Ohio University faculty to "begin the process of organizing themselves" into a union to negotiate with the university.

OU Faculty Senate Authorizes Union Drive (The Athens NEWS)
Ohio University’s Faculty Senate Monday night voted 23 to 18 in favor of a resolution authorizing faculty to begin unionizing.

Faculty Senate Passes Resolution on Unionization (Outlook)
Faculty Senate narrowly approved a resolution that opens the door to a campaign for a collective bargaining agreement for faculty members at Ohio University.

Perks of Unionization Depend on Data (The Post)
Letter to the editor by Joseph Bernt, professor of journalism and secretary of the OU AAUP chapter.

Krendl to Senate: Unionization Would be Distrous
Executive Vice President and Provost Kathy Krendl remarks to Faculty Senate regarding collective bargaining.

President McDavis: Commitment to Collegiality
President McDavis writes that this (unionization) debate should be conducted in a respectful manner and on the basis of accurate factual information.