Friday, May 1, 2009

Q. What is the university administration’s position on faculty organizing?

A. The administration of Bowling Green State University recognizes and respects the right of the BGSU faculty to organize. The administration believes that the faculty should test the arguments for unionizing with the same independence and intellectual rigor they bring to their own academic work. The administration understands that the union organizers are making numerous claims about the benefits organizing will afford the BGSU faculty. My goal is to share the administration’s perspective on these issues and to provide faculty with information and resources that will aid your research and decision making.

Q: In their FAQ document the organizers claim that their goal is to seek “a solid majority in favor of election”. In their March, 2009 newsletter the organizers indicated they will not pursue an election until 60% of the proposed members of the union have signed cards. (March 2009 newsletter) What is the number of signed cards necessary before moving to a vote?

A: Once just 30% of the faculty members of the proposed bargaining unit have signed cards, the organizers can petition the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) to hold an election. While the organizers have indicated they would file with SERB when 60% of the proposed bargaining unit faculty members have signed cards nothing in state law binds the organizers to that number. Once just 30% of the proposed bargaining unit has signed cards, the organizers can move to the next step at their own discretion.

Q: Does signing the card mean the signer wishes to be represented by a union?

A: Yes. On its face the signature card states that the signer wishes to be represented by a union. The union organizers will present the signed cards to SERB as evidence that the signers “wish to be represented by the employee organization as the exclusive representative…” OAC 4117-5-02 (A)(6). While the election is a different part of the process, and signing a card does not obligate the signer to vote in a particular way or even to vote at all, the purpose of signing the card is to indicate that the signer wishes to be represented by the union. Faculty who do not wish to be represented by a union should consider this when deciding whether or not to sign the card.

Q: If there is an election, what percent of the faculty have to vote in favor for a union to be recognized?

A: In their FAQ’s the union organizers write: “If a majority of BGSU faculty vote in favor of collective bargaining, then the BGSU-FA/AAUP would be elected to represent all members of the BGSU faculty…”

That statement is incorrect as it misstates the law.
For the union to be recognized only a simple majority of those voting in an election conducted by SERB must vote in favor of organizing. OAC 4117-5-09(A). This is not the same as “a majority of BGSU faculty”. For example, if only 100 eligible faculty vote in an election, then an affirmative vote of just 51 faculty members would be sufficient to unionize all affected BGSU faculty.