A union is not a solution in and of itself. Collective bargaining is a tool that allows you and your colleagues to come together and advocate for better compensation and working conditions. Your union would give you a legal basis to negotiate items that are currently at the sole discretion of OU’s upper administration and board of trustees.

Unions don’t protect faculty from negative performance reviews and their consequences, but instead ensure that when these things happen it is because a faculty member is actually not pulling their weight instead of other reasons. The goal of a union contract is to create transparency for faculty by setting the parameters of what is expected as far as work. If someone is not living up to this a union cannot stop them from being fired or reprimanded but does ensure that we all receive due process. By having expectations written down in a contract and by outlining a process for faculty to be reprimanded or fired we can provide protection from arbitrary dismissals.

No. Unionized schools include many of our research-intensive peer institutions, among them Rutgers, the SUNY system, NJIT, the University of South Florida, and the flagship public universities of Connecticut, Delaware, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Additionally, faculty at 11 out of the 14 public universities in Ohio are already unionized.

Yes. Of the 14 public institutions in Ohio, only 3 do not have a faculty union (OSU, OU, and NEOMED). There are more than 200 four-year colleges & universities in the US that have unions with collective bargaining.

Ohio law explicitly excludes part-time faculty and graduate students from collective bargaining rights unless they have the explicit permission of the institution’s executive officer.

While a faculty member is serving as department chair, they cannot vote in a union election or participate as a union member. When chairs leave the chair position and resume regular faculty duties, they are then able to join and fully participate. Faculty who are program directors, on the other hand, may be eligible. A minimum of 50% of one’s job responsibilities needs to be academic to be in the collective bargaining unit.

Yes, if a union is certified, you and your colleagues would be able to choose whether or not to be dues-paying members of our union. Either way, everyone in the certified bargaining unit would be represented by the union and their terms and conditions of employment would be governed by what is negotiated between the University and our union. Thus, you benefit even without joining, but the union is only as strong as your participation in it, so we encourage everyone to join because we will be able to bargain for a better contract.

Dues must be voted upon by the membership and negotiated with the university. They typically fall at or below 1% of one’s base salary at other unionized campuses in Ohio. We can expect that dues will be more than made up for by salary increases, given the bargaining power a union provides. In addition, no dues will be collected from members until a contract is agreed upon and ratified by the entire membership. The majority of dues stay with the local chapter and are used at the discretion of the membership.

Union members vote for the leadership of the union. Decisions regarding the governance of the union will be made by the local membership (i.e., the OU membership) and not at the state or national levels. Collective bargaining agreements will be approved by a vote of the local membership before they go into effect.

No. While compensation at unionized universities is higher than at non-unionized universities, salaries at a given institution do not go up in lock-step. Contracts often specify salary floors for faculty, but not salary ceilings. If you look at collective bargaining contracts across the country, you’ll see that merit raises are usually part of the contract. Contracts also establish processes for addressing compensation inequities and for offering competitive salaries to hire and retain strong faculty.

No. Where union contracts have secured raises for faculty, they have typically done so across the board. If the entire faculty gets a 3% raise, the highest-paid faculty members will receive the largest raises in terms of dollars. The example of Bowling Green State University is illustrative: Before they unionized in 2010, BGSU faculty salaries were very low (12th out of 13 Ohio publics, not counting OSU). Thanks to across-the-board raises, they are now above the median. BGSU faculty also receive merit raises in addition to across-the-board raises. If OU unionizes, you and your colleagues can expect to do better in terms of pay!

No. A strike can only be authorized by a vote of the members, so you and your colleagues will only go on strike if you decide collectively to do so. Regardless, it is illegal for a union to force an individual to strike. Note that strikes happen rarely and are a tactic of last resort. When you and your colleagues stand together as a united faculty, differences are likely to be resolved well before you resort to a work stoppage.

The most important thing to know is that your “yes” vote on unionization is anonymous. You can feel secure in supporting the union privately, with no chance of it affecting your promotion or tenure case. Also, unionization is relatively common at universities and, because of the public status of OU, the university would face backlash if they were to directly fire anyone. It is important to note that retaliation against faculty for union participation is illegal. The AAUP would not hesitate to pursue legal action if such a case emerged.

Unionization will not have an impact on visa status. The State Department pamphlet on rights for individuals working in the US explicitly states that you have the right to a union regardless of your immigration status.” In addition, other faculty unions, for example, United Academics of Oregon State University, have been able to negotiate for additional support for international faculty such as financial support to cover fees for visa applications.