Fordham/SEIU Agree on Union Election for Adjunct Faculty

Office of the President
Fordham University
September 27, 2017

Dear Members of the University Community:

I am very pleased to announce that the University and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 200 United reached an agreement to allow a mail ballot election to unionize most adjunct and full-time, non-tenure track faculty, following a summer of intense negotiations.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will supervise the election over a two week voting period, likely in October 2017. Any disputes which may arise regarding the election process will be decided by an arbitrator selected by the parties.

Fordham has agreed to remain neutral during the election: the University, and by extension its management (any University officer, administrator, supervisor, designee, or agent), is restricted from favoring one side or the other in the weeks leading up to the election and through the two-week election period.

If SEIU wins the election, the University and the union will begin negotiations for two separate collective bargaining agreements.

Those eligible to vote in the election include: all adjunct faculty except those who teach in the Gabelli School (undergraduate and graduate) and the Graduate School of Education; and all full-time non-tenured track (FT-NTT) faculty except visiting professors (all ranks), artists or writers in residence, and research fellows. There are some additional exclusions, including adjunct or FT-NTT who teach only online courses or non-credit bearing courses, and adjuncts who also serve as administrators for the University. Law School faculty are not participating in the election. 

Approximately 700 adjunct and 150 FT-NTT faculty will comprise the pool of 850 eligible voters. The 850 faculty include those contingent faculty who were employed in the spring of 2017 or who are currently teaching for us. SEIU must receive a simple majority of the votes cast to proceed with unionization. The University strongly encourages everyone eligible to vote in this election to do so.

We will share further information with the University community, including the affected parties, very soon, including rules governing the election, voting procedures, and contact information for SEIU representatives. Here are the so-called  TIPS Guidelines for fair labor practices.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. McShane, S.J.