From: Killen, Patricia
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 11:35 AM
To: GU-All Faculty
Subject: Regarding Union Organizing Activities
Office of the Academic Vice President
March 6, 2014
Dear Colleagues,
Several members of the Gonzaga University faculty notified my office of recent union solicitations they
have received from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 925. The contacts range
from unsolicited emails to unscheduled office visits and hallway conversations. The focus of the
solicitation seems to be faculty members they describe as “adjunct and contingent faculty.”
Based upon the feedback that I have received, the solicitations have generated a variety of
questions. I’ve addressed several of these questions below and encourage you to review the responses
and to contact me for clarification. I look forward to open and constructive dialogue together about this
issue.
1. Why do the SEIU representatives want to meet with me?
While no one in Gonzaga’s administration has been contacted by the SEIU to date, materials shared with
me by faculty suggest that representatives of the SEIU are seeking to organize Gonzaga’s adjunct and
contingent faculty into a union.
2. Should I meet with them?
It is entirely your choice whether you wish to meet or enter into discussions with an SEIU
representative, whether that be a union official or a Gonzaga faculty member who is participating in the
organizing project. The NLRA (National Labor Relations Act) protects the right of employees to meet
with union representatives and you have every right to do so. For those of you who do not wish to
speak to SEIU representatives, it is your right not to do so and you are free to express that viewpoint at
any time.
3. SEIU representative(s) have asked me to sign an “authorization” card, what is this about?
Gonzaga’s administration has not seen any authorization card that may be used by SEIU and therefore
does not know what the specific effect of signing it might be. Authorization cards are generally used by
a union to secure an election among employees. However, there are instances in which the cards can
be used to establish a union as the exclusive bargaining representative without an election ever being
held. While we cannot advise our employees on a particular course of action, it is important to know
the legal significance of these cards so that an individual who signs one understands what they are
agreeing to and/or authorizing.
4. Would a union be able to influence my pay?
Having a union means that wages, hours and working conditions for the represented group, known as
the “bargaining unit,” are determined through collective bargaining between that union and the
University administration. There is no guarantee that having a union would mean more money for
contingent faculty. Bargaining could mean more, less or the same compensation as contingent faculty
would receive without bargaining.
Compensation that is fair and just for adjunct/contingent faculty has long been a commitment of
Gonzaga’s faculty and administration. The creation of the lecturer ranks and the long-term contracts for
full-time, fixed-term faculty was one response to this concern. This year, the Faculty Senate has been
reviewing compensation for adjunct faculty and faculty leadership has opened the conversation with me
regarding this topic. As well, I have been working with the new deans to review current compensation
levels for adjunct faculty in the college and schools.
Should a union be formed, compensation and benefits for “the bargaining unit” (e.g., adjunct and
contingent faculty) would be handled through bargaining and would no longer be part of the shared
governance process that currently applies to all Gonzaga faculty – tenure-stream, lecturers, and
adjuncts.
5. If a union is formed, can an adjunct/contingent faculty member “opt out”?
No. If a union becomes the legal bargaining representative for adjunct and contingent faculty at
Gonzaga, the university would be required by law to deal only with that union on “wages, hours and
working conditions” for all adjunct and contingent faculty.
I hope these responses are helpful to you. I invite you to engage in research, reflection and further
dialogue that can assist you in fully understanding your options and the consequences of decisions
related to organizing. While I believe that it is better to work directly with our adjunct and contingent
faculty to achieve our mutual goals – and am committed to continuing the work in this spirit, without
involving an outside organization – I want to reiterate again that the university respects the right of
employees to inform themselves about a union and to choose whether or not they are represented by a
union.
Sincerely,
Patricia O’Connell Killen, Ph.D.
Academic Vice President