The Bowling Green State U. administration and the Faculty Association reached an agreement on the collective bargaining issue on June 17, prior to a scheduled hearing in Columbus.
Collective bargaining will allow faculty members to provide more input toward salary benefits and class sizes.
Instead of holding a hearing in Columbus, both sides entered into negotiations and the administration agreed for the potential bargaining unit to include all full time faculty members.
“Its no longer a debate,” said David Jackson, president of the Faculty Association. “The procedures and discussions are over and we set a date for the election.”
The administration and Faculty Association selected September 28 through October 12 as the time period for the election on collective bargaining, according to a statement made by the Faculty Association. Full time faculty members will vote via a secret mail ballot and must return their vote to the State Employment Relations Board by the election deadline.
“Collective bargaining is not a miracle solution, but it will definitely help us to listen to and understand our colleagues better,” Jackson said.
In preparation for campaigning, the Faculty Association will be compiling reasons why they believe collective bargaining is beneficial. Faculty Association members will campaign this fall by distributing flyers, posters and giving speeches in favor of collective bargaining.
“We are going to do anything we can to reach the 800 plus faculty members,” Jackson said.
The Faculty Association is also currently working on two campaigns called “Vote Yes” and “I Am The BGSU Faculty Association.”
The “Vote Yes” campaign will help explain the positive effects that collective bargaining can have for the University and its faculty. The campaign “I Am The BGSU Faculty Association,” which can be see on Faculty Association t-shirts, will aim to educate people on collective bargaining.
“Between now and the election we are going to continue to talk to faculty members about why it can bring change,” Archer said about collective bargaining. “Part of it is just educating people.”
The administration originally argued for two separate units, one including full time tenured and tenure-track faculty members and another with non-tenure track members. The administration presented a similar argument against collective bargaining back in 1993, said Karen Craigo, director of communications for the Faculty Association.
Tenure track faculty include professors and assistant professors, while non-tenure track members include lecturers. The Faculty Association began fighting for a single unit in March of 2009, when they distributed election cards for faculty members to sign.
Members of the Faculty Association said they hope collective bargaining will allow the University to move away from a corporation based model of education toward a more personalized student experience.
“We are really happy that we were able to get tenured and non tenure members in the same unit,” Archer said. “The faculty is one piece of the University that you cannot do without.