I'm Stickin' to the Union

Last year, the Plymouth State University adjunct faulty officially unionized. This year, Plymouth could see their full time faculty following the same path.

For years there have been peripheral talks about creating a faculty union, but up until this past summer there were no real discussions among the faculty about getting the ball rolling.

Dec. 5, 2012, was the first Faculty Forum meeting about the subject where anyone from the faculty could attend, give input, or simply listen.

Currently, there is no formal faculty spokes person for the union but there are many supporters who have been holding meetings and social gatherings at the Plymouth Public Library. These meetings are for faculty who are undecided, supporting, or just seeking information on what the unionization is all about.

For faculty to create their union, the New Hampshire Public Employees Labor Relations Board must receive signed authorization cards from a minimum of 30% of faculty in the unit. Once union supporters have at least this minimum number of signatures the group can then file to have an official election.

Having a faculty union can give light to many concerning issues such as: healthcare benefits, job security, working conditions, merit pay, and much more. Currently, some faculty at Plymouth are upset about various administrative decisions, like the reduction of retirement contributions in July, 2011. With a recognized union, faculty would have the right to negotiate these priorities with their employer.

Membership in the union is free until the first union contract is approved. After contract approval there will be union dues of 1.25% of a faculty member's gross pay.

Cathie LeBlanc, Professor and Chair of the Communication & Media Studies Department at PSU, said the proposed union would empower the faculty. "For me this unionization is all about making sure there is a strong faculty voice," said Leblanc, adding that, "when we are making decisions about how the university should work I would like the faculty to have a clear mechanism for having input." LeBlanc feels that the relationship with the faculty and administration is strong and trustworthy and wants it to remain that way, union or not.

LeBlanc, along with many other faculty supporters, feel that the current administration does a wonderful job at listening and taking faculty's cares into consideration. But, as good of a support system as there is, some faculty are critical of the unionization effort. LeBlanc feels that a great part of this criticism comes from people who think that the faculty simply wants more wages. This criticism is not only seen at our school but at many other colleges and businesses trying to unionize as well.

Another non-official spokesperson of the unionization effort, Gary McCool, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Reference Services at Lamson Library & Learning Commons, is excited for the benefits the union can bring. "I see it as a win, win, win situation. A win for the students, a win for the faculty, and a win for the administration." Students may assume that they should have no interest in the matter because they are not affected. However, this is not the case. According to McCool this unionization should give the faculty the power to advocate for increased state funding of higher education. This increased state funding could potentially keep the increasing tuition prices down, having a direct impact on student debt.

A union could also affect students in the increasing or decreasing of online classes that will be seen here at Plymouth State. LeBlanc says with a union the faculty would have a say and be able to oversee that highly qualified and fulltime teachers would be handling these online classes.

Along with other supporters, McCool would very much like to have clear, transparent, and legally-binding policies. McCool feels that everyone will benefit when policies are known in advance.

Time will tell if the faculty can gain support and start an official union.