The SEIU was decisively defeated earlier this week in its effort to unionize adjuncts at Webster University. Credit for the victory goes to an alliance between a dedicated group of adjuncts in opposition to the union and a successful campaign by the Webster University administration.
I first learned about the victory for our opposition to the union on Monday afternoon, when I received a very snarky e-mail–more on this later–sent by the SEIU organizing committee. It lamented its defeat–but claimed unfairness. Why? Because there had been an opposition.
How dare we oppose them?
A few minutes later, the official Webster University email arrived, signed by Provost, Julian Schuster. As with all other Webster communications, it was factual, polite, and calmly written.
The union had, in fact, been defeated in a vote by the adjuncts of 268 to 202 out of a total number of 666 adjuncts, 57% to 43%. Of great interest is that there had been a significant number of challenged ballots–nearly 20% of adjunct ballots and 80% of instructor ballots had been thrown out. This was not a surprise to me–I have dealt with this union before. Ballot stuffing is a regular strategy for this bunch.
So why did the union organizers think the election was unfair? Let me quote their letter, “Webster administrators hired an anti-union law firm to help deliver negative propaganda to mislead adjunct faculty about our choices.”
What a crock!
Webster has every right to oppose a union so destructive in its beliefs and actions and so counter to the concept of academic freedom and collegiality. Strongly voiced opposition is not unfair. However, this union restricts its own members’ first amendment rights–so the organizers’ opposition to free speech should not be surprising.
The union organizers’ letter went on to say, “We wanted to vote in a fair, democratic election in order to join with other contingent faculty around the country who are uniting in SEIU/Adjunct Action—sadly this did not occur. The Webster administration did not follow the example set by other reputable institutions, such as Georgetown University, that decided that meddling with employees’ union efforts was counterproductive to their stated mission.”
Utter garbage!
So, what did the union organizers mean by this? They meant that they actually believe that it is disreputable not to roll over and play dead in the face of a unionization effort. To these people, the only ethical position is one that agrees with theirs. No academic freedom for them–nor for the rest of us had they won.
It isn’t over with this election. Their letter goes on to say, “we are considering our legal options”. The letter also claims, despite the clear vote to the contrary, that the election results do, “not change the fact that the union is us, the faculty.”
Not true, the union is not the faculty–less than a third of the faculty even voted for the union–and the rest of us opposed it or didn’t participate in the vote.
Unfortunately, as indicated by the letter, the organizers’ intent is clear: continue to sow discontent; build walls between faculty and administration; split apart adjunct and full time faculty; recruit student support for the union in their classes; and damage the collegiality of this school.
So, what do I have to say to the SEIU and its disaffected union organizers? It is very simple.
You lost–now go away!