Dear colleagues,

I am writing to update you on unionization involving our non-tenure track faculty. This afternoon, the Regional Director (RD) of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a Decision and Direction of Election. The RD found:

• Full-time non-tenure track faculty may be in a bargaining unit, but agreed with the university that the bargaining unit petitioned for by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205 is not appropriate.
• Four separate units based on non-tenure-track faculty’s primary school appointments are appropriate. Based on this finding, the RD directed separate elections in each of the four schools—Arts and Science, Blair, Peabody and Divinity—to determine whether these newly-constituted units wish to be represented by SEIU Local 205 for purposes of collective bargaining.
• Elections for each school will begin on May 15 with ballots counted on June 6.
• Those eligible to vote are all non-tenure track faculty in each of the four schools who taught at least one class during the Spring 2017, and do not have administrative roles. (See below for more details).
• Ballots will be sent to those eligible through the U.S. mail.

The university will provide additional updates as the process moves forward. If you have any questions or comments, please share them with me, Vice Provost Geer, or your dean. Our faculty unionization website also has detailed information about this issue. Please also review the NLRB Election Notice, which will be emailed to eligible voters and posted in numerous locations on campus prior to the election.

As we have said in every meeting we have had with the faculty, we urge everyone in the unit to vote. Full participation is essential to ensure we have an outcome that is fair and that reflects the opinion of all faculty who will be affected by unionization.

Thanks for your attention to this issue during such a busy time.

Sincerely,

Susan R. Wente

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

The College of Arts and Science Unit

Included: All full-time and part-time non-tenure-track faculty employed by Vanderbilt University with a primary appointment in the College of Arts and Science.

Excluded: All faculty of other Schools and Colleges, all tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty, emeritus faculty, research faculty who are not teaching courses, adjoint faculty, clinical faculty, all administrators (including deans, directors, provosts, and chairs who may have teaching assignments); faculty who are paid by entities other than Vanderbilt University (including governments, and other organizations), visiting faculty paid by their home institutions, athletic coaches, all other employees employed by the University, including those who teach a class or course and are separately compensated for such teaching;, managers, confidential employees, office clerical employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the National Labor Relations Act.

Peabody College of Education and Development Unit

Included: All full-time and part-time non-tenure-track faculty employed by Vanderbilt University with a primary appointment in the Peabody College of Education and Development.

Excluded: All faculty of other Schools and Colleges, all tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty, emeritus faculty, research faculty who are not teaching courses, adjoint faculty, clinical faculty, all administrators (including deans, directors, provosts, and chairs who may have teaching assignments); faculty who are paid by entities other than Vanderbilt University (including governments, and other organizations), visiting faculty paid by their home institutions, athletic coaches, all other employees employed by the University, including those who teach a class or course and are separately compensated for such teaching;, managers, confidential employees, office clerical employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the National Labor Relations Act.

The Blair School of Music Unit

Included: All full-time and part-time non-tenure-track faculty employed by Vanderbilt University with a primary appointment in the Blair School of Music.

Excluded: All faculty of other Schools and Colleges, all tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty, emeritus faculty, research faculty who are not teaching courses, adjoint faculty, clinical faculty, all administrators (including deans, directors, provosts, and chairs who may have teaching assignments); faculty who are paid by entities other than Vanderbilt University (including governments, and other organizations), visiting faculty paid by their home institutions, athletic coaches, all other employees employed by the University, including those who teach a class or course and are separately compensated for such teaching;, managers, confidential employees, office clerical employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the National Labor Relations Act.

The Divinity School Unit

Included: All full-time and part-time non-tenure-track faculty employed by Vanderbilt University with a primary appointment in the Divinity School.

Excluded: All faculty of other Schools and Colleges, all tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty, emeritus faculty, research faculty who are not teaching courses, adjoint faculty, clinical faculty, all administrators (including deans, directors, provosts, and chairs who may have teaching assignments); faculty who are paid by entities other than Vanderbilt University (including governments, and other organizations), visiting faculty paid by their home institutions, athletic coaches, all other employees employed by the University, including those who teach a class or course and are separately compensated for such teaching;, managers, confidential employees, office clerical employees, professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the National Labor Relations Act.