NU LIBRARY WORKERS UNION
A project of SEIU Local 73
A project of SEIU Local 73
A union is a legally protected organization of coworkers who collectively negotiate the terms of employment—wages, benefits, and working conditions. A union is not a third party that comes in and decides for us. We, the NUL staff, make up the union and decide together what is important. SEIU Local 73 provides legal support and expertise to help us negotiate these demands.
By joining together, we can create positive changes in the library's working environment which will in turn improve services for our patrons. Choosing to combine our voices gives us a chance to have a say in our workplace on the issues that matter to us, including wages, benefits, and working conditions.
Yes. All employees have the right to form, join, promote, or assist a union. We are protected by the National Labor Relations Act, and it is illegal for Northwestern to retaliate against us. (Source: National Labor Relations Board)
We start with the benefits we have (wages, health insurance, retirement, educational assistance, etc.) and bargain to improve these. The bargaining committee will be a representative group of our coworkers, chosen by us, to negotiate with Northwestern to make our priorities known in a contract. A professional negotiator from SEIU Local 73 will help us with this process. All union members will vote on whether or not to ratify the contract. We wouldn't vote yes on a contract that reduced our benefits.
Currently, Northwestern has 100% of the say in our working conditions. With a union, we have 50% of the say in negotiating a legally binding and enforceable contract with Northwestern to improve benefits, wages, and working conditions. A contract allows us avenues for repairing inequitable treatment or policies.
No. We begin bargaining with what we already have and would never collectively accept a contract that provides us with anything less. We have heard from several union members at other colleges and universities who have shared exactly this experience with us. In addition, the National Labor Relations Board strictly prohibits “threatening employees with loss of jobs or benefits if they join or vote for a union or engage in protected concerted activity.” (Source: National Labor Relations Board)
Our dues would be a flat 2% of base pay and would be used to fund our activities as a union, to everyone's benefit. Dues are collected only after a contract is successfully negotiated and ratified by us, the members.
No. Your dues money cannot be used for political purposes or lobbying. SEIU Local 73 has an opt-in fund called COPE (Committee on Political Education) for members who want to support political causes that impact Local 73 members. COPE is a member-led committee that helps to fund or provide resources to candidates who act in the best interests of our membership by empowering workers.
Yale, Princeton, and University of Washington libraries all have unions! These are just a few examples of the many academic libraries that have organized to improve their working conditions and fight for fair contacts with administrations.
We are forming a union with SEIU Local 73 and will join with thousands of members across Illinois and Indiana who have won major improvements in their workplace in recent campaigns, including at UChicago, Loyola, UIC, and Cook County. As library employees, we all work together to provide services for our patrons and we know our workplace best. By affiliating with SEIU Local 73 we will gain resources and expertise, while still determining our own priorities and being in charge of negotiations. You can find out more about SEIU Local 73 by visiting the website at https://seiu73.org/
We know we are stronger together and our work is dependent on one another. We each provide valuable skills, expertise, and experience to the university, regardless of our classification, which is why we are filing for all eligible employees to be one bargaining unit. There are individuals who are ineligible for the union for various reasons, such as their job is security-related or they fit the NLRA’s definition of supervisor or a manager.
It is illegal to require someone to be a member of a union. A “union security clause” is sometimes agreed to in contract negotiations. There can be varied versions of this clause, including requiring non-union members to pay an agency fee in exchange for receiving the benefits of the contract. The terms of this clause would be negotiated during collective bargaining.
We included as many library workers as possible, but some individuals are not eligible according to the NLRA.
Absolutely not. Not a single employee has received financial compensation from any union or union affiliate. The colleagues involved are doing the work to positively impact our workplace.
We have very strong support for a union! Currently, over 90 colleagues have signed on to our “Dear Colleagues” letter. Every eligible staff member has the right to speak up about the union and vote.
Right now, the university decides the terms of our employment.
We know there is a lot to consider in this decision and that a lot of information is being shared from a variety of sources. If you have any questions, please contact us and one of your colleagues will be in touch.