Dear colleagues,

The hearing before the NLRB continues in downtown Nashville this week. As before, the proceedings focus on the question of whether the bargaining unit petitioned for by the SEIU is appropriate. Several witnesses, including myself, have provided details in support of Vanderbilt’s position that full-time non-tenure track faculty are “managerial employees” as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court and that they do not have an appropriate “community of interest” with our adjunct and part-time non-tenure track faculty. The hearing will continue most of this week.

The dialogue related to the union’s organizing attempt also continues on campus. Monday morning, a group of approximately 20 faculty members gathered at Furman Hall and walked to the lobby of Kirkland Hall to meet with Vice Provost for Academic and Strategic Affairs John Geer. The faculty voiced concern that the hearing is delaying the NLRB election process, and they also discussed shared governance.

During that conversation, it became apparent that additional clarifications are needed. Please be assured that it was the union – not Vanderbilt – that defined the proposed bargaining unit so as to exclude faculty who hold administrative titles and roles. In fact, the union’s petition, filed with the NLRB on February 16, contained the following specific exclusion from the bargaining unit: “all administrators (including deans, directors, provosts, and chairs who may have teaching assignments).”

I believe it is essential to provide correct information regarding Tennessee’s “Right to Work” law.  Should a union election be certified, faculty in the bargaining unit do not have to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment. However, all faculty in the unit will be subject to the terms and conditions of the union negotiated contract. Thus, they do not have the right to “opt-out” of the resulting contract. For further information, our FAQs website is openly available. (NOTE: This information was updated from the original sent March 14 to clarify what is meant by “opt-out.”)

Our faculty deserve the best and most accurate information. With this goal in mind, we will be hosting more opportunities for informational meetings. One example will be a forum hosted by the Faculty Senate for all university faculty. Please make every effort to attend. I will provide meeting dates and times on Friday. I believe this will provide an excellent opportunity to share facts and continue our discussion about this important topic.

Sincerely,

Susan R. Wente
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs