The United Academics of Ohio University, or UAOU, has pushed for unionization for almost a year, involving demonstrations, discussions and now a parade.
UAOU is a faculty group trying to obtain its right to unionize with the support of a supermajority of staff.
UAOU plans to attend this year’s homecoming parade Sept. 28 to officially represent itself as an organization and gain recognition for its cause.
Christoph Hanisch, associate professor of philosophy and member of the UAOU’s communications committee, said UAOU’s goal is to make itself visible.
“This is taking a long time, as expected, but we are fighting for this project and we have huge support,” Hanisch said.
The group officially formed March 5 when it sent a letter to President Lori Stewart-Gonzalez informing her 65% of faculty had approved UAOU as their exclusive bargaining representative.
On March 8, UAOU faculty and AFT-AAUP staff delivered over 550 signed authorization cards and a Petition for Representation Election to the State Employment Relations Board, or SERB, Office in Columbus.
SERB is currently overseeing negotiations between OU representatives and pro-union representatives about who will be members of the bargaining unit.
According to John O’Keefe, director of communications for UAOU, the university has been pushing back on the organization’s efforts.
“The university had the option to simply just recognize us, which they rejected,” O’Keefe said. “The administration strategy has been to delay, and they have not been responsive.”
According to a previous report by The Post, the university hired lawyer Daniel J. Guttman of the Columbus-based BakerHostetler law firm to represent it. Guttman has a history of fighting unionization efforts in Ohio.
O’Keefe said this is just another part of the university’s efforts to delay and extend this process further.
Hanisch said the current controversy is over whether faculty directors, like himself, should be included in any future unions.
“The union doesn’t yet exist; we haven’t even had an election yet,” Hanisch said. “Before we have an election, we have to clarify with the administration of the university who the members will be.”
Dan Pittman, a university spokesperson, said that the university filed a Petition for Representative Election seeking an election within a more defined collective unit. Pittman also said it would be premature for the university to comment any further, as the bargaining process is ongoing.
UAOU organizers hope to have an election soon, but its unionization efforts extend much earlier than this date.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant layoffs among full-time faculty at OU, with 55 faculty members being let go.
“That was really kind of the galvanizing moment for me and many of us,” O’Keefe said. “We wanted to be able to push back effectively and make sure we could teach in a more secure environment.”
O’Keefe explained that the past few years have been especially difficult for staff members without tenure because of increased feelings of job insecurity.
At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rachel Terman, associate professor of sociology and member of the UAOU, was eight months pregnant, untenured and concerned about losing her job.
“I just felt very demoralized,” Terman said. “I felt that faculty didn’t have the voice or the power on campus that we needed to maintain a quality environment for faculty to thrive, and therefore create a quality environment of learning for our students.”
Hanisch said this undermines academic integrity in faculty members because they don’t feel they can research or write about certain topics without risking their jobs.
“(Unions) open a huge reality sphere of additional freedom and liberty when you can work and pursue your research under the protection of union framework,” Hanisch said.
