I totally missed this last week and just found out about it yesterday when EMU-AAUP President sent around an email to faculty about it: As reported by the Echo, “Lecturers, students protest with sit-in at Martin’s office.” Here’s the opening paragraphs:
Yesterday, adjunct lecturers and students joined together once again in an attempt to send a message to the administration at Eastern Michigan University.
Crowding into the hallway outside of President Martin’s office in Welch Hall, members of the Adjunct Lecturers Organizing Committee, Students for an Ethical and Participatory Government and representatives from the American Federation of Teachers made it clear they weren’t going to let the issue slide.
“We urge president martin to set a meeting date with us to establish a bargaining unit definition so we can have an election and choose for ourselves whether to unionize,” said EMU mathematics lecturer Paul Horvath.
Martin and Provost Jack Kay eventually talked to the group, but it doesn’t sound like a lot of progress was made. Click on the “Continue reading” link to read Susan Moeller’s email to faculty about all this.
Here’s what Moeller said:
This group of teachers demanded a meeting with President Martin, and they refused to leave over several days until they were granted a brief meeting. One teacher held class right in the 2nd floor hallway of Welch Hall. Another held office hours there. The group put signs that read: “no lecturer left behind” in the ground outside the entrance to Welch Hall closest to President Martin’s office. After two days of protest, they were finally granted a brief meeting with President Martin and Provost Kay.
Adjunct lecturers teach less than 5 classes per term, so they are not part of the full time lecturers union – EMULOC. However, these adjuncts who teach less than 5 classes have filed an election petition with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) in order to have an election to determine if the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) will be their collective bargaining agent.
The AFT was able to obtain the signatures of a majority of the roughly 450 adjunct lecturers, which is enough to have an election. However, the administration of EMU is questioning the composition of the bargaining unit, challenging who can be eligible for that election.
At this point, the AFT simply wants the administration to stop their delaying tactics and allow the adjuncts to have a secret-ballot election to determine if they will be unionized. We at the AAUP support the concept that the people who teach classes at EMU should have the right to vote and organize, if that is what a majority of the potential membership desires.
From our standpoint, the recalcitrance of the EMU administration reflects their hostility towards collective bargaining rights, and it is emblematic of the problems we have been having this year in terms of the numerous grievances, unfair labor practices, and the arbitration that we filed. We hope that the administration allows these dedicated teachers a simple vote to determine if they will have collective bargaining rights.
