Dear Colleagues,

As you know, the ballots for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) unionization election were mailed to your homes yesterday. Throughout this hurried process, we’ve heard concerns from many of you and we know that you still have a lot of unanswered questions.  You are not alone—we too have lots of questions.

This choice has the potential to dramatically change our campus culture. You deserve the opportunity to thoughtfully consider the future implications of this election without being rushed, as well as to have your questions answered and your voices heard. But time is not a luxury the process has given any of us.

While lots of questions remain, we’ve done our best to be  as open and as transparent as possible through meetings, written communication, and a detailed WEBSITE.

Please know that we have repeatedly sought a process that was best for the Vanderbilt community and that fits our deliberative culture. For instance, we asked that the election be scheduled at a time of year that encourages participation, rather than forcing it immediately after Commencement when many of our faculty have left campus for a well-deserved summer break. However, the SEIU has repeatedly disregarded our concerns. The SEIU has no interest in learning about our culture and, in fact, decided to negotiate with us in bad faith rather than work collaboratively on a credible compromise.

Quite simply, they want to rush this election because low turnout is to their advantage. The election doesn’t require a threshold of participation. If just five or ten percent of your peers vote, that small number of colleagues will determine the election for everyone. In short, your vote matters—it matters in a way that is hard to express.

Our goal is simple. We want to make sure all of our faculty’s voices are heard. Please look for your ballot in the mail this week and VOTE!  Please, encourage your colleagues to do the same.   Participation is critical and will ensure the right decision is made in this important choice.

Thank you for your time, willingness to ask questions, and your engagement. It would be so nice to have the time to consider all these options in a thoughtful fashion. But that is not, alas, a possibility at this point.

We appreciate you taking the time to read this note and for all the many things you do to make Vanderbilt a great university.

John Geer

Vice Provost of Academic and Strategic Affairs