Q: If a union is elected, and negotiating the collective bargaining agreement extends
into the 2023-24 academic year, would people in that union still receive the annual
General Salary Adjustment (GSA) next May? Would they have to wait until the collective
bargaining agreement is agreed upon?
A: If a union is elected, Skidmore would be prohibited by law from making any unilateral
changes to the terms and conditions of employment. Instead, any changes would have
to be negotiated with the union bargaining representatives, including wage adjustments.
A question of law arises as to whether or not automatic rollout of the annual GSA
to faculty in a collective bargaining unit would constitute a change or a continuation
of existing conditions. This is a gray area of the law, particularly in light of the
varying amounts of the GSA during the past three years during the global pandemic.
Thus, there is no clear answer to the question of whether or how long NTT faculty
members might have to wait for future pay adjustments in the event the union wins
one or both elections and bargaining extends into the 2023-24 academic year.
Q: If an NTT faculty member undergoes a successful promotion review this upcoming
year, which would normally include promotion to a new title and a subsequent pay raise,
would he or she get that new title and pay increase, or would he or she have to wait
until the CBA is agreed upon?
A: Again, this would depend on a legal analysis over what constitutes a change or a continuation
of existing terms and conditions of employment. As noted above, in the event of unionization,
any and all changes would be subject to the collective bargaining process, meaning
that no changes could take effect until the parties have reached an agreement.
Q: If a union is voted in and a bargaining unit or units are formed, how will this
affect the participation of non-tenure-track faculty in shared governance?
A: Shared governance is a core principle of Skidmore College. We believe deeply that
shared governance improves the life of the College, and our strong preference is for
non-tenure-track faculty to continue to be eligible to participate in shared governance.
However, to the extent that non-tenure-track faculty are considered members of a collective
bargaining unit, opportunities for participation in shared governance may be limited.
The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that participation in shared governance is generally
considered a supervisory responsibility that is inconsistent with inclusion in a bargaining
unit of union-represented employees.
Q: To what extent would unionization limit non-tenure-track faculty members’ ability
to take on additional teaching responsibilities and earn HELIOS stipends?
A: If a union is established in one or both bargaining units, this issue would necessarily
be subject to negotiation between the union and the College.
Q: If a union is formed, it has been claimed that NTT faculty would retain all of
their existing benefits and that the union would bargain for additional benefits.
Is this accurate?
A: Not necessarily. All terms and conditions of employment, including compensation and
benefits, would be subject to negotiation. There are no guarantees in collective bargaining.
As the NLRB has advised, the collective bargaining process can result in compensation
and benefits that go up, stay the same, or go down. In addition, as noted above, certain legal complexities can affect what happens going forward.
Skidmore has a long history of increasing compensation over time, and the College’s
commitment to ensuring we remain competitive in order to recruit and retain talented
NTT faculty members will continue with or without a union.
