Faculty Alliance of Miami Wins Union!

Yes colleagues, you WON! That's what time it is! Here's an article in today's Cincinnati Enquirer and our press release is below. For more, check the @famiamioh tweets from today in Columbus.

OXFORD, Ohio — In a historic union election at Miami University, faculty won their union and therefore the power to bargain for better working conditions protected by a legal contract. An overwhelming majority of faculty cast ballots in favor of being represented by the Faculty Alliance of Miami (FAM), part of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The results (450 to 241) were certified on May 17th at the State Employment Relations Board (SERB). 

The new union will include more than 800 tenured and tenure track faculty as well as teaching professors, clinical faculty, and lecturers. FAM is also organizing a separate bargaining unit for librarians, whose election will be May 18 through June 2. 

FAM faculty organizers have been working to organize colleagues for more than a year. In conversations with colleagues about their working conditions, faculty named a lack of shared governance, threats to the educational mission, and top-down decision-making, as key concerns. The union win will give faculty the power to negotiate for concrete changes that are protected by a legal contract. "

“We will soon be participating meaningfully in important decisions that affect our ability to serve our students,” said Theresa Kulbaga, a professor of English at Miami Regionals.

The decision will have ramifications beyond the university’s campuses. Research shows that increased density of unionized workers in a community positively affects local wages, living standards, and democratic rights. FAM organizers say they want to use collective bargaining to promote more stable employment and strengthen the university’s educational mission.

“As we face legislative threats to academic freedom and the tenure system that protects it, higher ed unions are more important than ever. We can work in coalition with other unions to build power to reduce precarity and protect freedom of research and learning,” said Cathy Wagner, a professor in the English department. 

Julie Alexander, a teaching professor in the Farmer School of Business, said she was thrilled to be able to vote “yes” for her faculty union. And she’s excited to support her librarian and visiting faculty colleagues as they organize. “We all work together to educate our students, and we will continue to work together as a union, just with separate contracts,” she said.

“As an organizer, I felt that the outcome was never in doubt after talking to so many of our colleagues and acting on their clear mandate,” said biology professor Paul Schaeffer. “This victory will give us the pathway to improve faculty working conditions and student learning conditions through collective bargaining. We look forward to beginning the bargaining process with the administration.” ​

Join FAM for a Celebration —