Writing Faculty United (WFU), the union that represents University Writing Specialists and advisors, was given the right to join Faculty Forward by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) at a two-day hearing in May.
The union’s victory comes after Provost Katherine Baicker sent WFU an email on May 10, 2023, denying their request for voluntary recognition by the University, citing a lack of “community of interest” between the members of WFU and Faculty Forward.
WFU’s membership is composed of Sosc writing advisors, writing and research advisors, lectors, and writing specialists.
“They didn’t have a problem with an election for [WFU’s] own standalone union, but they didn’t like the idea of these writing folks joining the existing unit,” said WFU’s legal representative in the case Sam Hensel, a staff attorney for Local 73 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), of which Faculty Forward is a part. “The University’s legal argument was that these two groups do not share a sufficient community of interest with one another. The law only permits the NLRB to certify bargaining units that are ‘appropriate,’ and units are appropriate if the employees within them share a community of interest with one another.”
Factors that might play a part in determining whether two groups share a community of interest include the similarity between the groups’ job functions, their departmental organization, and their interpersonal contact with each other, Hensel explained.
WFU originally requested voluntary recognition from the University by delivering a petition with the names of 37 members on April 28, 2023. The petition laid out four issues on which the union wished to work: better working conditions, including higher wages and more benefits; more transparency and equity with regard to the University; recognition of the members’ value to the University community; and an established voice in how writing instruction takes place on campus.
Nell Pach, a writing and research advisor in the Department of English Language and Literature, has been involved with WFU since this spring.
“We’re really excited that the hearing went our way. It affirmed what we’ve been saying: that we’re teachers and that what we do is quite similar to what other people in Faculty Forward do. It’s very gratifying,” Pach said.
After Provost Baicker’s email declined their request for voluntary recognition as part of Faculty Forward, WFU turned to the NLRB.
“We were certainly disappointed that the University chose to spin our jobs in the way they did, which felt disingenuous,” Pach said. “We wanted to join Faculty Forward, and we voted unanimously to go forward with trying to get the University to let us, because we felt that it made the most sense.”
The hearing took place over the course of two days, beginning on May 26. But it wasn’t until recently that WFU received the verdict.
WFU’s next step is a vote-by-mail election, where members will vote whether the group should join Faculty Forward. Pach said she anticipates that the union vote will be a success but noted some of the logistical difficulties that it might pose.
“There are lots of steps along the way when you have to make sure there’s no one falling through the cracks. You have to make sure everyone receives their ballot, fills it out, and mails it,” she said.
Hensel said that while the University is entitled to appeal the NLRB’s ruling, he does not anticipate any further legal challenges either.
“We feel that we have a strong case,” Hensel said. “Labor law is designed to allow the fullest freedom of association among employees; that’s the best way for them to exercise their rights. To have staff and lecturers be able to be in one union together is something that we’re very proud of, and we’re glad that the NLRB saw it that way.”
“We all really love our students. But there are certain baseline material conditions that need to be met, and we need to have a sense of stability. Our working conditions are the students’ learning conditions,” Pach said.
The University declined to comment.
Editor’s note: This article was updated October 12 to clarify Sam Hensel’s position and relationship with WFU.
