LMU Staff Senate Resolution Calls on Admin, Board to Return to Bargaining with Union Faculty

The Staff Senate at Loyola Marymount University passed a resolution calling on the administration and board of trustees to return to contract bargaining with unionized non-tenure track (NTT) faculty.

The resolution by the senate — which represents administrative employees in various offices, including academic and student affairs — passed in December. It says the senate “stands in solidarity” with NTT faculty and urges the admin and board to engage in good faith contract negotiations.

In September, the admin and board announced they would no longer recognize or bargain with unionized NTT faculty, cynically claiming a religious exemption from jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which governs collective bargaining for private employers. The announcement came after nearly 10 months of bargaining for a union contract between the university and NTT faculty members — who approved joining SEIU Local 721 by a vote of nearly 90% in summer 2024 in an election certified by the NLRB.

Faculty theologians have said the admin and board’s union-busting violates Catholic and Jesuit teachings.

The resolution states that the admin and board’s decision also “impacts the ability of staff to unionize for our rights, dignity, and compensation.”