|
« AAUP Homepage
|
New Collective Bargaining Chapter
By Julie M. Schmid
On March 4 and 5, the full-time faculty at North Central State College in Mansfield, Ohio, joined the ranks of AAUP unionized faculty when they voted to be represented by the North Central State Faculty Association (NCSFA-AAUP). This election marks the conclusion of a seventeen-month campaign in which the faculty signed authorization cards three times and the faculty organizing committee decided to switch affiliation from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to the AAUP.
The turnout for the election, which coincided with the Ohio presidential primary, was high. Ninety-five percent of the sixty member bargaining unit voted, with 61 percent voting for NCSF AAAUP as the collective bargaining representative and 39 percent voting for no representative. According to Beth Franz, NCSFA-AAUP chapter president, “This is a huge step forward for the faculty, who simply wish to have a formal collective voice in the affairs of the college. As faculty, we know our students and care about their success. We believe that having a formal voice will allow us to help the administration make decisions that are in the best interests of both the institution itself and the students we are here to serve.” The chapter is already hard at work preparing for negotiations over its first contract.
Planning for the collective bargaining campaign at North Central State began in October 2006. During early 2007, the faculty organizing committee decided to organize under the auspices of the AAUP rather than the AFT. According to Franz, the faculty reached this decision because the AAUP “sees collective bargaining as we do: as a means to an end, not an end in itself. Forming a collective bargaining unit is what allows a faculty group to ensure such important things as shared governance, academic freedom, academic quality, codified policies and procedures, and the right to a fair grievance process.” In March 2007, cards signed by a majority of the bargaining unit were filed with Ohio’s State Employment Relations Board. The summer months were spent in activities related to the board hearings, and the fall and winter were spent making arrangements for the election. National AAUP staff members as well as faculty colleagues from the Ohio conference of the AAUP assisted the chapter throughout the process.
|