Faculty Petition for Representation Information
The United Academics of Ohio University (UAOU) is seeking to form a faculty union here at Ohio University. In Ohio’s public sector, one of the initial steps in that process is for a potential union to gauge interest and ask the State Labor Board to hold a secret ballot election. The results of that election will determine if a faculty union will be formed.
If a majority of eligible employees vote to approve the new union, only then would any collective bargaining processes and obligations between the new union and Ohio University begin. If a majority of eligible employees do not vote to approve the new union, any collective bargaining processes and obligations would not begin - and the faculty and administration would continue their current relationship through processes and obligations already in place like those outlined in the Faculty Handbook and through the Faculty Senate.
Before the State Labor Board can hold an election, however, it first needs to review the request of the potential union asking for the vote. Although the union makes the initial request for a specific designation of voters, only the State Labor Board can determine who is eligible to vote, and thereafter who would be a member of this potential union.
When the State Labor Board makes its decision on voter eligibility, which is called the “bargaining unit,” the Board allows both sides the time and opportunity to make their case on who should be eligible to vote. This means the University also has a chance to provide input and facts on who would be in a potential union.
This initial stage for determining voter eligibility also determines membership in the potential union. This does not mean that a certain employee or groups of employees can’t be in a union, but maybe not in this particular union, or grouped with this particular voting or bargaining unit.
Again, only the Labor Board determines what the appropriate grouping of employees is after considering various legal factors that weigh both the concerns and rights of the employer university and the potential union. The State Labor Board allows legal briefs and submissions from both parties, and may even hold a hearing, to make sure the evidence and issues are fully considered before holding an election.
Consistent with this process, on May 9 the University filed its response to the potential union’s request for an election. The University did not move to cancel or delay the election, or dismiss the election petition. Rather, the University also wants a secret ballot election to determine if a majority of eligible employees want to form a new union and begin the collective bargaining processes, or if a majority of eligible employees want to continue their current relationship through processes and obligations already in place like those outlined in the Faculty Handbook and through the Faculty Senate. This process is to determine who the appropriate “community of interest” is for the vote – who should be grouped together to vote and who should not. Specifically, the University shared concerns that, as currently proposed by the UAOU, the proposed unit seeks to mix faculty from clinical academic groups that do not share a community of interest, similar working conditions and other terms of employment when compared to the rest of the general academic community at the University. These and other issues were presented to the State Labor Board to help them determine who the right group of voters and potential union members should be.