Dear colleagues,

The hearing on non-tenure track unionization at the National Labor Relations Board office continued through this spring break week. To date, in addition to myself, Dean Benbow, Dean Wait, Dean Benton and Dean Townes have all testified at the hearing.

As part of our commitment to provide all with full information and facts, we’d like to share the composition of the current unit petitioned for by the union. It includes approximately 319 adjunct, part-time and full-time non-tenure track faculty, and even a few postdoctoral fellows, in Arts and Science, Blair, Divinity and Peabody.

Each of the deans’ testimonies further illustrated the vastly different roles and relationships with the university that our full-time non-tenure track faculty have in comparison to adjunct and part-time faculty. The composition of the proposed bargaining unit based on faculty role is below.

The deans’ testimony also illuminated the significant differences between the four schools/colleges in regards to the students they serve and the programs they lead. These differences, and the opportunity for full-time non-tenure track faculty members’ significant involvement in the shared governance of the university, are why the university believes that the current proposed bargaining unit is inappropriate.

The SEIU has asserted that the numbers of non-tenure track faculty have “mushroomed” and that this is justification for forming a faculty union at Vanderbilt. Although this might be true at other universities, at Vanderbilt, the data below show that this is not true. The number of Vanderbilt non-tenure track faculty in these four schools/colleges over time has remained relatively stable over the past decade. In other words, there has been no increase in the use of non-tenure track faculty at Vanderbilt. We have also heard assertions that this group is overwhelmingly female; in fact, the proposed bargaining unit is 57 percent female.

Finally, we have received additional important questions this week related to union activity that I want to share with you.

Is the Union required by law to tell the truth to potential bargaining unit members? 

No.  The law allows the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to make statements or promises to members of the proposed unit that do not have to be truthful or accurate.  For example, we’ve heard reports that union organizers are telling faculty members that, since Tennessee is a “right to work” state, they can opt out of union representation.  That is not correct. If the union is certified, all members of the bargaining unit, whether they vote in the election or not, will be represented by the union.

Why can’t the University make any changes while the petition for an election is pending?

Under the National Labor Relations Act, the University is prohibited from making unilateral changes to “terms and conditions of employment” for the petitioned for faculty.  This means that the university must follow its standard practices and cannot make any new promises or changes that weren’t already contemplated or in process prior to the filing of the union petition.

As always, we remain committed to keeping the lines of communication open as we work through this process and welcome your questions. Additional information and a list of FAQs can be found here. 

Sincerely,

Susan R. Wente
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs