The United Academics of Ohio University, or UAOU, delivered a letter to OU President Lori Stewart Gonzalez on March 5 during a rally it hosted on College Green, requesting the university respect its wishes to unionize and agree to remain neutral.
UAOU received a response March 7 from OU’s Senior Associate General Counsel and Director of Employee and Labor Relations, Michael Courtney, on behalf of Stewart Gonzalez.
However, Courtney said UAOU’s current request does not meet the minimum requirements outlined in the Ohio Revised Code, section ORC 4117.05, for seeking voluntary recognition of UAOU, American Federation of Teachers, or AFL-CIO, and American Association of University Professors, or AAUP, as the exclusive representatives for OU faculty.
Specifically, the formal filing with the Ohio State Employment Relations Board, or SERB, lacked sufficient information, such as evidence of majority support and a detailed description of the positions to be recognized. The file’s omission of information prevents university leadership from thoroughly reviewing the request for voluntary recognition of the proposed exclusive representative.
Kyle Butler, vice president of OU-AAUP and an associate professor of instruction in the Ohio program of intensive English, said UAOU had spoken to over 90% of faculty across all of OU’s campuses and had roughly two-thirds support from faculty.
On March 8, UAOU faculty and AFT-AAUP staff delivered over 550 signed authorization cards and a Petition for Representation Election to the SERB Office in Columbus. Following SERB instructions, a duplicate copy and a letter were emailed to Courtney.
Samantha Pelham, a university spokesperson, said because the process of UAOU filing with the board is a complicated multistep process, it would be premature for the university to comment any further.
Courtney said OU leadership greatly values and respects all university employees and believes they are vital for the success of the university. He also mentioned the development of a Dynamic Strategy to support the university’s employees.
The Ohio Revised Code sets a specific amount of time, longer than the current demand of the UAOU, for responding to the voluntary recognition of an exclusive representative upon filing with SERB, Courtney said.
Additionally, given the quick turnaround, OU leadership was not given adequate time to form a position or opinion on the matter, he said.
Tuesday morning, the university administration posted a notice to employees from SERB. The notice informed OU employees that UAOU filed a petition for a representation election seeking to be the exclusive representative for collective bargaining purposes.
The proposed unit includes all full-time faculty at all campuses, with exclusions such as visiting faculty, managerial employees and supervisory employees. Any organization wishing to intervene must file a motion by April 2.
John O’Keefe, the director of communications for UAOU and associate professor of history at Ohio University-Chillicothe, discussed the next steps of the unionization process.
Once UAOU submits the authorization cards and SERB reviews and certifies them, it will negotiate with the university regarding the members of the bargaining unit and the contract itself.
According to the SERB Representation Guide, after the approval of the bargaining unit, SERB will direct an election.
“I really want to emphasize that our voice is collective,” O’Keefe said. “The more active faculty are in this process, the more our contract will reflect the views of all faculty.”
In an announcement, UAOU wrote that it wants a swift process that leads to a representation election in Fall 2024. It encouraged ongoing support from all parties involved.
Butler said UAOU is continuing to hold regular meetings, contact faculty regularly with updates on the unionization effort and organize a button campaign to increase awareness.
“I’m hopeful that the university is ready to work with us,” Butler said. “We all want the same thing. We want to support our students, we want to see this university thrive. We look forward to the opportunity to be able to work directly and negotiate with the administration to make that happen.”
Courtney said the university will respond per the Ohio Revised Code upon formally filing a complete request for recognition.
