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Dismissal of Union Organizer Was Legal
A federal appeals court ruled last fall that Carleton College acted legally when it dismissed an adjunct professor involved in unionizing efforts at the institution. The decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed an earlier decision by the National Labor Relations Board, which had agreed with Karl Diekman, an instructor of music, that his dismissal from Carleton was prompted by his organizing activities.
Administrators at the college maintained that Diekman was dismissed because he had a negative attitude and displayed a lack of professionalism. In a dissenting opinion, appeals court judge Myron Bright wrote that"anti-union animus contributed to the discharge decision" and opined that the ruling might make adjunct faculty at Carleton and other institutions reluctant to "make any waves."
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