Share
Share
The LMU Faculty Senate passed a resolution Thurs., Sept. 18, calling on the university to return the bargaining table with non-tenure track (NTT) faculty and to explore “options of an agreement in a timely manner via good-faith negotiations that engage all proposals.”
We thank our faculty colleagues for supporting our NTT union’s central demand to the university: stop the immoral union-busting and get back to the table now so we can bargain in good faith! The faculty senate is comprised of elected representatives of tenure-line and NTT faculty, as well as professional librarians.
Background: In an email to LMU employees and students on Friday, Sept. 12, Paul S. Viviano, chairman of the LMU Board of Trustees and CEO of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, said the university would stop recognizing the NTT faculty members’ union and invoke its “constitutionally protected religious exemption” from the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which governs collective bargaining for private employers. The announcement came despite a federally certified vote of nearly 90% approval from NTT faculty to form a union in summer 2024 with SEIU Local 721.
Since the admin and board’s announcement, LMU students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community supporters have condemned what they view as LMU’s immoral union-busting.
On Tues., Sept. 16, union supporters marched to LMU’s Provost Community Conversations event and denounced President Poon, Provost Weaver, and other administrators over their announcement about the union. Late last week, 10 Catholic theologians who teach or have retired from LMU’s Department of Theological Studies sent a letter to campus President Thomas Poon and the board of trustees saying that LMU’s position on the NTT faculty union is incompatible with Catholic social teaching.
Because we made our voices heard, our fight for justice is getting national attention. See our story highlighted in:
The LA Times
Imperfect Paradise podcast
KFI radio
Words about Work with Mel Buer