Following a determination or an agreement concerning the appropriate composition of a bargaining unit, the central issue determined in a representation case before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and other analogous state and local labor relations agencies is whether a majority of the at-issue bargaining unit supports representation by a union for purposes of collective bargaining.  If the agency finds majority support for unionization, the petitioning union is then certified as the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit and an order is issued requiring the commencement of collective bargaining.  In the alternative, a university and a union can agree upon a non-administrative agency process for determining majority support that can lead to voluntary recognition and the beginning of negotiations. 

There are varying administrative approaches to conducting a representation election.  The NLRB favors the holding of an on-site manual representation election at the employer's premises over the alternative of a mail-ballot format.   At least one state, New York, has a history of conducting manual representation elections at locations other than the employer's premises.  

Generally, the NLRB conducts a mail-ballot election only when there are wide differences in work locations and work schedules among the at-issue employees.  In contrast, other labor relations agencies have a history of favoring the mail-ballot format.  More recently, certain labor relations agencies have begun to conduct electronic and telephonic elections.  Click here for article on representation election procedures.

The following is the description of the at-issue adjunct faculty unit:

Included:  All part-time faculty, including adjuncts and instructors, who are employed by the Employer to teach in the programs and academic units of the College at the College's instructional facilities located at the following addresses:  2222 Laguna Canyon Road ("Main Campus"), 2825 Laguna Canyon Road ("Big Bend Campus"), 2633 Laguna Canyon Road ("Graduate Studies Building"), and 2295 Laguna Canyon Road ("Suzanne Chonette Senior Studios"), teaching at least one unit of a credit-earning class, lesson or laboratory.

Excluded:  All other employees; all full-time faculty; all artists in residence; all visiting instructors; all community education instructors; all faculty teaching in locations other than the College's instructional facilities as defined above; all faculty teaching online courses exclusively (regardless of location); all graduate students; all lab assistants, graduate assistants, teaching associates, clinical fellows, teaching fellows, teaching assistants and research assistants; all mentors; all full-time staff or administrators, whether or not they also have teaching responsibilities; all deans, registrars, and librarians; all volunteers; all other represented employees; all clerical employees, managers, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.

The District of Columbia Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) is conducting a mail-ballot representation election concerning a unionization effort by part-time faculty at the University of the District of Columbia seeking representation by SEIU Local 500.  The vote count is scheduled for August 25, 2014.  Click here for PERB Notice of Election.  A vote in favor of unionization will result in a PERB certification of SEIU Local 500 as the exclusive representative of the part-time bargaining unit, followed by the commencement of collective bargaining for a first contract.     

The following is the description of the at-issue bargaining unit at the University of the District of Columbia:

Included: All part-time faculty paid by the course, employed by the University of the District of Columbia.  

Excluded: All other employees, including all employees in positions within other collective bargaining units; all full-time faculty; all employees of the David A. Clarke School of Law including adjunct faculty of the law school; visiting faculty, full-time employees, graduate students, lab assistants, teaching associates, clinical fellows, teaching fellows, teaching assistants, research assistants, librarians, registrars, volunteers and degree seeking students of the University including those with adjunct appointments, administrators and other employees whose primary position is not teaching but may have teaching responsibilities and may be classified by the University as adjuncts when they teach, officer clerical employees, guards and security personnel, managerial and supervisory employees.  

Antioch University (Seattle): Certification of SEIU, Local 925 to represent the following unit at Antioch University's Seattle, Washington campus:  

Included:  All full-time and regular part-time faculty, including core, teaching, clinical, affiliate and adjunct faculty employed by the Employer at its Seattle, Washington campus.

Excluded:  Administrators, deans, academic unit heads, department/program chairs, and clinic managers, regardless of additional teaching responsibilities or contract type; non-faculty staff, non-administrative staff who are not compensated additionally for teaching, and all other employees, guards, managers, and supervisors as defined in the Act.

Representation Petition Filed for Adjuncts at California College of the Arts

The National Center is pleased to announce our newest members of the Board of Advisors: John Swarbrick,  Associate Vice Chancellor Labor Relations, California State University, and Juditra Burgess, Director of Labor Relations, Boston University. 

The Board of Advisors meets semi-annually to provide guidance in the functioning of the National Center, to help maintain a cooperative dialogue among labor representatives and administrators in higher education, and to provide ideas and support for the National Center's initiatives including its annual conference and publications.

The National Center is pleased to introduce our newest intern, Charindra A. Ramdas. Mr. Ramdas is helping us archive National Center publications dating back to its founding in 1973.  Mr. Ramdas is a junior at Hunter College, City University of New York, studying for a Bachelor of Arts in English.  He aspires to become a liberal arts teacher. 

Please mark your calendars for our 42nd annual conference that will be taking place on April 19-21, 2015 in New York City.  The theme of the conference will be
Thinking about Tomorrow: Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations in Higher Education.  Click here for Call for Papers and Proposed Workshops.  Pr�cis of proposed papers and workshop trainings should be submitted electronically to the National Center by October 17, 2014.