FAQs and Concerns

There are many benefits to joining a union–from increased salaries and better benefits to job security and protections–but at the root of it all, joining a union means having the opportunity to collectively bargain with our employer over those things that most fundamentally impact our lives and livelihoods. Union membership is core to building a democratic union. Members in good standing can vote on internal proceedings of their union, including the ratification of your first contract (for the librarians) and upcoming leadership elections (for NTTs)! Being a member means getting a voice in how your union functions.

You may have signed a union authorization card before the election. This card authorized Workers United as your affiliated union and told the National Labor Relations Board that you wanted to form a union.

A membership card is different. It enrolls you as a member of that union and entitles you to participate in the democratic processes of your union. Membership happens after your contract is finalized.

Yes! Once the librarian contract is complete, librarians will be eligible to officially become members. To get involved with the librarian bargaining process, reach out here: tulibrariansunited@gmail.com

We’re here to support you and enforce the gains we’ve won in our contract. We expect that there will be a learning curve for Tulane, especially these first three years, but we are here to fight for your rights. If you believe Tulane is in violation of our contract, please reach out to our Interim Chief Steward, Prof. Matt Toups (mtoups3@tulane.edu) or to our Organizing Committee at tulaneworkersunited@gmail.com 

They will schedule a meeting with you, explain the grievance process, and be with you every step of the way. We will follow your lead and advise but never force.

Legally employers cannot retaliate against you, and we will use the law to the fullest extent if they do. In fact, the National Labor Relations Act establishes the fundamental right of “employees at private-sector workplaces… to seek better working conditions and designation of representation without fear of retaliation.” Beyond the law, however, we move quickly to build critical mass so that we can respond immediately if the university does something illegal. While union organizing activity is protected under federal labor laws, our greatest strength comes not from the law but from our numbers. An injury to one is an injury to all–and we will respond accordingly!

However, it’s unlikely that supervisors or the university would retaliate directly, because they have very good lawyers who know this is illegal. They are far more likely to spread fear and confusion in more oblique ways. You might, for example, encounter use of the “prediction loophole”–whereby certain “predictions” about what “might” happen are conveyed by those in power, rather than overt threats. Should you encounter any threats disguised as predictions, contact the union immediately so that we, and our legal representatives, can respond.

Tulane Workers United dues are $40/month and are drafted automatically from your paycheck after you complete a membership card. Dues are used to support negotiating and enforcing collective bargaining contracts, to provide legal representation for workplace grievances, and to strengthen and build our union. We’ve already won raises in our first contract that cover the cost of union dues, and we expect to win more in future contracts.

When an administration warns about union dues, their only purpose in doing so is to prevent us from growing a strong union and winning real increases. Let’s be real–this is a tactic, and nothing more. Tulane administration doesn’t actually care if we can afford the cost of groceries, rent, or gas. If they did, we would have seen real raises in the last twenty years.

It’s important to remember that, at the root of it all, unionization is about power. It’s the way that we, as workers and employees, gain the power to determine our own working conditions, to bargain over things like salary and benefits, and ultimately to have our voice heard and recognized. When we gain power, that means the university administration will lose some of their power over us. They will no longer be able to make unilateral decisions that impact our employment and our working conditions without consulting us first. When it comes down to it, the university would rather not have to consult us, and they might do everything in their power to prevent that from happening. This could include, for example, circulating misinformation, half-truths and talking points that the university and their lawyers will carefully develop to have the most impact as possible.

The university is legally required to remain neutral when it comes to the unionization process. However, we know from experience that employers are never as neutral as they might wish to appear. In fact, employers might often spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on anti-union lawyers who will help them to articulate their opposition to unionization without technically breaking the law. They will often do this by providing “information” about unions and sharing supposedly neutral “union facts”. But keep in mind, any information the university shares regarding unions is shared for a purpose–whether that purpose is transparent or not.

The legal right to organize is protected for US citizens and non-citizens alike. As a private university, we are federally protected by the National Labor Relations Act (1935) and the university–like any private employer–cannot threaten, intimidate, or retaliate against workers, regardless of citizenship status, whether during a union organizing campaign or after we have a union. In the US, the right for all workers–including immigrants–to form a union has been protected by the law for over 80 years!

Furthermore, job stability is a key priority when forming a union. We’ve watched as Tulane has systematically relegated immigrant workers to lower paid and more tenuous positions (i.e. VAP/Instructor/Lecturer). If we want to make Tulane a safer place for our immigrant brothers and sisters, we need to build collective power through unionization!

We are affiliated with Workers United, a national labor organization that offers us a great deal of legal and organizational support; however, we (Tulane employees) are the Union. We make our own decisions democratically, and we will elect leadership from our own ranks. Workers United (an affiliate of SEIU) provides support, strategy, and guidance as we make these decisions. With a union, your vote actually matters! Through democratic decision-making, we will decide what to bargain for and we will decide when we’ve reached a fair contract with the university.

As most of us already know, contingent faculty are largely disenfranchised at Tulane. The vast majority of us have no vote in matters of shared governance – and, even if we did, this vote would hold little to no binding weight. We’ve watched university administrators make decisions against the will of even tenured faculty, because at the end of the day, what passes for “shared governance” often amounts to little more than an advisory board. A union, on the other hand, gives us actual institutional power to participate in the decisions that impact our lives and livelihoods.

There’s a common misconception that teaching jobs aren’t “real” jobs and that we do this work simply because we love it–not because we need to earn a living. And it’s true that many of us do find fulfillment in teaching and research. Personal fulfillment, however, doesn’t put food on the table or pay rent checks. We deserve a salary that allows us to live comfortably in New Orleans. We deserve raises, transparency, and real job security. But, most of all, we deserve real power and the ability to make decisions about our work and our livelihoods.

University administrators across the country have decided that they should run universities like businesses–minimizing costs, increasing profits, and reducing “shared governance” to little more than faculty advisory boards. These decisions are reflected in the explosion of underpaid contingent labor, the dismantling of tenure, and the increasingly exorbitant salaries of university administrators. The result, however, has been clear: Faculty across the country are forming unions and fighting for equity, justice, and a voice in how we run our universities. Through these unions, faculty have won incredible victories ranging from salary increases and job security to protections against sexual harassment and support for immigrant workers and scholars. Just last year, Rutgers faculty won massive salary increases across the board, including 47% increases for adjunct faculty and minimum increases of at least 14% for all full-time faculty.

We understand our students better than anyone else at the university–after all, we’re the ones who spend our days working with students in the classroom, mentoring students, supporting their research and undergraduate work, and enriching our students’ lives. Shouldn’t we have a say in decisions that impact our students? We’ve watched administrators regularly make unilateral decisions in the interest of just one priority: the bottom line. Forming a union allows us not only to advocate for our own benefit, but for the benefit of our students and the university at large. Furthermore, students should understand the poor working conditions of the people who make their undergraduate experience possible. They’re paying massive tuition rates to attend this institution, but where does that money go? Apparently not to the very people who are keeping the lights on. Ultimately, our working conditions are student learning conditions. When Tulane employees aren’t living paycheck-to-paycheck, they’re more capable of giving students the attention and care they deserve. And when we have a seat at the table with administration, we can advocate for those things we know will benefit our students.

Unions are one of the best vehicles for justice and equity. Building a union means we get to decide what equity and transparency look like in hiring practices, promotion lines, and many other issues of equity. We also have adjuncts, staff, and faculty at other universities in New Orleans waiting for us to set a new standard so they can form a union. This sets the groundwork for all higher education workers in the city to have a better standard of living. Furthermore, by establishing a union, we can provide experience, guidance, and resources to other faculty and staff as they organize and build power with us across the university, the city, and the country. Forming Tulane Workers United is just the beginning of what we envision as a much broader change at Tulane and in the city of New Orleans.

Tulane University has net assets of over $3 billion, an operating budget in excess of $2 billion, and an endowment of over $2 billion. Tuition/fees and room & board is $92,000 annually. The university might try to make it seem like they don’t have enough money to give to faculty for raises or benefits, despite the fact that they have ample funding for administrative and coaching salaries. Furthermore, when we win and start negotiating a contract, if Tulane tells us they cannot afford our demands, we get to look through Tulane’s finances to see for ourselves. We have this legal right as a union. We don’t just have to work within the budget of our individual schools (SLA/SSE) either, but instead will get to negotiate with Tulane as a whole.

Raises for some workers will not come at the expense of other workers. We are in this together, and we will bargain for the benefit of all. This will include bargaining for raises across the board, while also working to raise the minimum threshold for our lowest-paid workers. Furthermore, money isn’t the only thing we’re bargaining over. We can also win better job security, clearer promotional tracks, better EDI practices, and a seat at the table. While our individual needs and situations may differ, we all stand to gain when we work together.

We do expect, however, that university administration might use “divide and conquer” tactics in their attempts to prevent unionization. We’ve seen such rhetoric deployed almost any time workers join together to fight for improved conditions. Administration might say that unionization will hurt tenure-track faculty and upset them. They’ll attempt to pit part-timers against full-timers. But we must remember that they do this entirely to prevent us from getting a seat at the table–administration doesn’t want to share their power with faculty. Tenure-track faculty are our brothers and sisters in this fight. They can’t be in the trenches with us, but they are supporting us from the sidelines. They know if we get increased standards, so do they. If Admin is able to divide us, they win; but if we stay united, we win.

The National Labor Relations Act forbids employers from interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of rights related to union organizing. This includes any acts or statements intended to prevent or dissuade employees from working together to improve their conditions of employment. Such actions, even when indirect, can “chill” (aka attempt to intimidate or threaten) employees from exercising their rights under labor law—as such, they are violations of the NLRA.
For example, if a Tulane administrator says the following, not only are they perpetuating misinformation, but they are most likely intentionally trying to chill support for the union:

• “We’re not able to hire any more POPs this year because of the union.”
• “You can’t talk about NTT faculty issues in your department meeting because of the union.”
• “We may have to cut your program’s funding because of the union.”

You may have encountered these exact statements—we certainly have!

In such situations, it’s common for administrators to cite the guidance of Tulane’s legal counsel—as if their primary concern is maintaining neutrality and following the law. Don’t make the mistake of believing that Tulane’s legal representatives are somehow a neutral party—they know who is paying them, and they know what they were hired to do. (Let’s not forget that Tulane is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to Ogletree Deakins, a law firm that specializes in union-busting, to further their interests.)

You might wonder why Tulane would so willingly break the law, when they can certainly expect that we will file unfair labor practice charges against them. It’s possible that they simply expect they can get away with it—after all, they’ve enjoyed unilateral power over us for years, and perhaps they simply don’t know how to deal with workers who come together and speak up for themselves. However, it’s perhaps more likely that this is a tactic to make us lose our focus on the big picture—if we’re spending all our time running around and putting out the fires they set, then we’re not focusing on what matters most: Bargaining a contract that wins us real gains, real protections, and transformative improvements in our work lives.