The University of Chicago Press (UCP) and a new union seeking to represent its employees reached an agreement this week to hold a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) union representation election by mail, the union confirmed to the Maroon.
On May 4, Press workers announced they had unionized as the UCP Workers Guild and were seeking voluntary recognition from Press leadership by May 8. The Press did not meet the deadline. In an email to the Maroon, Sierra Wilson, a production specialist in the Books Division of the Press, said the union had received a finalized NLRB stipulated election agreement on May 14. A stipulated election agreement allows the employer and the union to appeal election disputes to the full NLRB.
“We are disappointed that the university has decided not to voluntarily recognize us, as we came to them with a clear supermajority of support and the hope of working with them more collaboratively,” Wilson wrote. “However, we are ready for an election!”
Details about the timing of the election were not immediately available, but elections are typically conducted “on the earliest practicable date” following authorization. Once a date is set, the Press must communicate election information to all eligible employees.
If an employer refuses to recognize a union but at least 30 percent of workers have signed union authorization cards, a petition can be filed with the NLRB to officiate a mail-based election. If the union wins a majority of votes cast, the employer must bargain in good faith over working conditions. As of May 6, a supermajority of eligible Press workers had already signed union authorization cards.
The UCP Workers Guild is affiliated with the Chicago News Guild, TNG-CWA Local 34071. The Duke University Press union, which is also represented by the News Guild, was previously recognized through an NLRB election in 2022.
The Press did not respond to a request for comment.
