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Your Bargaining Action Team (BAT) for your Non-Tenure Track (NTT) Faculty Union — would love to bring you an update about negotiations for our first contract. The problem? LMU’s admin canceled our 13th scheduled bargaining session on Aug. 18 at the last minute and has yet to work with us on arranging a new one.
This is disrespectful. NTT faculty make this campus run by providing an excellent, nationally recognized education that our students attend LMU to receive. We deserve better than being ghosted by our administration.
LMU Continues Pattern of Foot-Dragging in Bargaining
This fits a pattern of foot-dragging in negotiations from our admin. Despite telling us they wanted to have a finished contract by the end of summer break, LMU administrators have brought the pace of bargaining to a crawl by refusing to schedule regular bargaining sessions. Furthermore, LMU has yet to provide any counters to our pay and benefits proposals despite receiving them months ago. In responding to some articles, the admin has simply crossed out our proposed language entirely without offering any potential compromise.
We did not vote overwhelmingly to unionize just to maintain the status quo. LMU must be prepared to bargain in good faith for a fair agreement that includes living wages, improved benefits, better job security, and adequate working conditions.
LMU is Violating Labor Law
That’s not all: LMU’s admin continues to violate labor law by 1) refusing to provide its normal annual merit-pay increases to full-time union members and 2) withholding promotions for the entire unit, despite many of us qualifying for advancement.
These moves are unlawful because they discriminate against us as union members and unilaterally change the terms of our working conditions as we bargain for our first contract (non-union NTT faculty are not affected by these policy changes!). The BAT authorized filing Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges over these matters with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). NLRB agents are now investigating the charges and gathering evidence.
Why is LMU’s admin doing this? We believe the university wants to hold advancement opportunities and merit increases hostage until we reach a contract because they feel it gives them leverage at the bargaining table. It’s a cynical move that contradicts LMU’s stated Catholic and Jesuit values and its supposed commitment to social justice, equity, and human dignity.
We must be prepared to act.
The BAT believes our faculty unit must be ready to act if our administration continues to egregiously violate labor law, slow-walk bargaining, and use union-busting tactics to undermine us. We’ll be in touch soon about next steps.
Want to get involved now? Join our Contract Action Team (CAT). The CAT serves as a vital link between our elected Bargaining Action Team and the broader faculty and helps mobilize faculty members to action.
In Solidarity,
Your Bargaining Team