History of Academic Unions

by: Aaron Gedalia and Sadhbh McDermott ☭

The first academic unions emerged in the mid-19th century in New England as a space for students to debate ongoing issues of the time. From the early days to WWII, these preliminary forms of academic unions served as places for conversations between students and faculty but did not resolve many significant issues nor did they encompass the modern structure and functions of academic unions today. However, during the Civil Rights Movement these organizations took a much more active role in school affairs and also began tackling political and social affairs that transcended their institutions. During this time, there was a growing movement of faculty members who were frustrated with their working conditions, including low pay, lack of job security, and limited opportunities for advancement especially among marginalized groups. These faculty members began organizing and forming unions to advocate for better working conditions and to have a voice in decisions that affected their work. From 1960 onward, unionization in academic institutions experienced a ‘snowball’ effect in their growth of representation and influence through the successes of collective bargaining. Today, academic unions continue to grow and gain influence with most universities in the US having academic unions that play a substantial role in the affairs of their respective institutions.

1970 CUNY Strike

One of the most significant events in the history of academic unions in the United States was the 1970 strike by faculty members at the City University of New York (CUNY). The strike, which lasted for several weeks, was one of the first large-scale faculty strikes in the country and resulted in significant gains for faculty members, including better pay and job security. Many other strikes by academic unions have succeeded since then, but their success has raised several legal and administrative challenges over the last decades.

The Legal Battle

Laws have been passed to restrict or limit the ability of faculty and student members to unionize, while in other states, courts have upheld the rights of faculty and students to form and join unions. In some states, laws have been passed that restrict the ability of public sector workers, including faculty members at public universities, to engage in collective bargaining. On top of legal issues, some university administrators have viewed unions as a threat to their authority and have been resistant to recognizing or negotiating with them. In some cases, universities have engaged in anti-union tactics such as hiring union-busting consultants, intimidating union members, and withholding resources from unionized faculty. However, the legal landscape around academic unions is constantly changing, and there have been legal challenges to some of these laws. In some cases, courts have struck down laws that restrict the ability of faculty members to unionize, while in other cases, these laws have been upheld.

ACT 10

A notable example of restrictive legislature on unions passed in Wisconsin in 2011. A law known as Act 10, limited the ability of public sector unions to negotiate over wages and benefits, and required them to hold annual certification votes to maintain their status as a union. Consequently, this resulted in the repression of academic unions in Wisconsin as well as drastic decreases in benefits for faculty members highlighting the many challenges academic unions still face today.

Part-time Faculty Job Security and Stability Act

Academic unions and other advocates have pushed for state laws that provide greater protections for adjunct faculty members, who often work part-time and have less job security than tenured or tenure-track faculty. In 2014, California passed the "Part-time Faculty Job Security and Stability Act" that requires community colleges to consider the length of service and past performance of adjunct faculty when making hiring decisions. This act signified a great feat for academic unions in Californian universities.

Continued Legacy

Academic unions today continue to fight for job security, fair wages, academic freedom, social justice, and equity. While much progress has been made, there have also been many obstacles that have stalled and even undone the progress made from the past. As a result, the fight for equality, equity, and representation on university campuses across the United States will only increase as time goes on. From the founding of the first academic unions to the present-day, academic unions have evolved around the many changes and challenges presented through the progression of time and the everchanging institutions where they seek to bring change for the greater good of students and faculty.

Are there benefits to joining a union?

Scholar Rachel Applegate conducted a survey in which she interviewed library staff both within universities and public libraries. There, she found that out of 1,904 academic libraries that she surveyed, only 334 had staff that were unionized, which is less than a fifth of staff she observed. What she discovered was that workers who were a part of a union received a better wage than non-unionized workers. Although there was no increase in the amount of funding given to these institutions, this also meant that the wage increases for these workers were not taken out of the funding for these libraries, meaning that more money was being set aside for educational institutions.

Unions and female participation

Three economists Ann Mari May, Elizabeth A. Moorhouse, and Jennifer A. Bossard conducted a survey to examine whether unionization has led to a representation of female faculty members of universities around the United States. They examined data from the American Association of University Professors, particularly focusing on the years 1993/4 and 2004/5. In their study, not only did they find that there was more female representation in university workforces that were unionized, they also found that female workers achieved higher wages and reached higher administrative positions, making their representation in the workforce more legitimate and not just descriptive.

Unions and Neoliberalism

Malawian historian Paul Tiyambe Zeleza wrote an interesting article called "Academic Freedom in the Neo-Liberal Order: Governments, Globalization, Governance, and Gender" in which he explores the relationship between systems of political economic decision-making that governments make, and the levels of unionization in universities. Although his focus is on Africa in this article, it highlights a global phenomenon where universities now view themselves as businesses instead of places of learning. A result of this approach by universities, is that they shift their focus away from the needs of students, and as a consequence of this, their staff, and instead focus on satisfying market forces.

A global approach: Academic Unions and Ireland

In order to have a more global approach to the study of academic unions, it is important to understand how they operate in other countries. In this instance, Ireland will be used as a case study because it is another highly-developed, Western country which makes comparing Ireland to the US a lot easier. According to Forbes, 26.5% of the Irish workforce is a member of a union, which is a lot higher compared to the 10.6% of American workers in unions. In Ireland, There are various different unions that exist within universities for both staff (depending on their occupation) and students. All staff unions have to be members of an overarching body called the Irish Congress of Trade Unions which is similiar to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations - except that the American equivalent is optional. The mandatory nature of the Irish organization means that there is a central body that advocates for Irish workers rights both within the country, and also at a European level, that the US does not have.

Furthermore, all universities have their own student unions which campaign for the rights of students within their respective institutions. Most of these student unions, apart from University College Dublin (UCD) are then part of the Union of Students in Ireland that promote student's interests on a national level. In the US, student governments are more popular than student unions. However, student government often has less formal powers, and can only advise university staff on their policies, as opposed to a student's union who have a yearly budget, on-campus property like stores bars, and paid staff.

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