Michigan Tech Faculty Choose to Unionize
By Julie M. Schmid
In September, the faculty of Michigan Technological University elected the local AAUP chapter as its exclusive representative for collective bargaining. From a bargaining unit of a little more than three hundred members, 152 voted for the MTU-AAUP as collective bargaining representative, and 134 voted for no representative.
The successful election marks the conclusion of a campaign that began ten months earlier. In December 2003, the MTU-AAUP began collecting signature cards from the faculty. Five months later, cards signed by 56 percent of the bargaining unit were filed with the Michigan Employee Relations Commission. During the ensuing months, the chapter worked to build support for the union drive and turn out the vote for the upcoming election. The chapter was assisted in its campaign bymembers of the Michigan AAUP conference.
The impetus behind the union drive was the shrinking role of faculty in university governance at Michigan Tech. According to Bruce Barna, the MTU-AAUP chapter president, "The last decade has been marked by a diminishing faculty role in academic, professional, and fiscal policies affecting faculty. The vote indicates the faculty's desire to have a voice in these matters."
The next step is to prepare to negotiate the first collective bargaining agreement with the university administration. Barna says the chapter will survey all the members of the bargaining unit to find out about their concerns. "We will also encourage those faculty who are not AAUP members to join the MTU-AAUP in order to increase our collective strength in these negotiations," he says.
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