Over 200 non-tenure track professors at Brandeis will soon vote on whether to form a union after filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, according to a press release sent by union spokesman Jason Stephany on Wednesday. The union would be affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), an organization that has worked to establish unions at schools and universities around the Boston area. Faculty hope to join the “Faculty Forward” section of SEIU Local 509.
Voting typically takes place four to six weeks after faculty members file with the NLRB, according to the Brandeis Faculty Forward website. Members will pay union dues of “1.5 percent of [their] gross salary,” but only after they have negotiated and approved their first union contract, according to their Frequently Asked Questions page.
Adjunct faculty at Brandeis will seek greater compensation for their courses, longer contracts, improved benefits, the chance to interview for new full-time positions and a seat at the table with administration. Non-tenure track professors often have year-to-year contracts or must teach at multiple schools, according to the Brandeis Faculty Forward website.
In the Boston area, faculty from several schools have already unionized, including Boston University, Tufts University, Northeastern University and Bentley University.
Adjuncts at Tufts were the first to unionize with the SEIU, securing a 22 percent salary increase over three years and compensation for work done outside of the classroom. The faculty also seek benefits for professors teaching at least three classes and the chance to interview for full-time positions, according to a Brandeis Hoot article from Oct. 16.
In May 2015, adjuncts at Lesley University approved a union contract with the SEIU. The contract includes an approximate 33 percent raise in salary per course, representation at University Council and Faculty Assembly meetings and compensation of 15 percent their salary when a class is cancelled in the first three weeks of the semester among other points, according to Lesley’s Faculty Forward webpage.
The administration has eight days to respond to the petition, according to Lisa Lynch speaking at a student town hall on Wednesday evening.
