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Q: The College recently increased faculty pay. Is this a result of the union activity?
A: No. These increases are the result of a year-long faculty and staff compensation study
that began in May 2021. Among its outcomes, the study resulted in a broad restructuring
of compensation levels to better recognize and reward the vital contribution our non-tenure-track
faculty colleagues and other faculty members make and to ensure Skidmore remains competitive
as it seeks to attract and retain talented individuals.
Q: Why are so many faculty on terminal contracts of short duration?
A: We recognize that many non-tenure-track faculty have been on successive terminal contracts
for many years. During the past year, the Office of the Dean of the Facultyhas been exploring ways to provide greater security, stability, and continuity for
ourNTT colleagues. When the College was notified about potential unionization, we were
required to pause our work on this project, pending the outcome of the unionization
choice. Like many colleges, Skidmore has issued these contracts to ensure that experienced,
well-qualified faculty members are available to fulfill institutional needs, including
teaching much-needed courses in the curriculum, alleviating enrollment pressures,
and serving as replacements for other faculty members’ absences, sabbaticals, or leaves.
But we fully appreciate the need for a better system for renewing/reissuing the contracts
of NTT faculty and are eager to resume work on this.
Q: Why have the full-time and part-time NTT faculty been split into separate voting
groups?
A: The NLRB has long-standing principles governing the appropriate makeup of bargaining
units. After some discussion among NLRB and union and college representatives, the
union withdrew its proposal to combine the two groups and the NLRB has approved separate
elections for each group.
Q: Does having two separate elections mean that more than one bargaining unit could
be formed?
A: Yes. Depending on the majority of votes cast in each election, the result could be
one bargaining unit, two bargaining units, or no bargaining units.
Q: Would electing a union automatically result in higher pay, better benefits, and
greater job security? Would my benefits remain the same as they are now?
A: Not necessarily. If a union is elected, the existing terms and conditions of employment
would remain unchanged until a negotiated collective bargaining agreement is reached.
There are no guarantees about the outcome of the negotiations nor about what pay,
benefits, and other terms would be agreed upon. There could be positives and there
could be negatives. Negotiating a collective bargaining unit is complex and time-consuming.
Studies have shown that most first contracts take more than a year to negotiate.
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