USC faculty groups vote to unionize and university vows to challenge it

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A different kind of momentous election result has landed — this one at the University of Southern California — as a majority of more than 1,800 faculty members voted to unionize, adding to a growing labor movement among higher-education faculty in the state and nationwide.But before the vote count ended shortly before midnight Tuesday, USC signaled that it would not accept the union victory.In a June 1 message to faculty, the university said it had asked the National Labor Relations Board to “quickly review the validity” of the vote, citing “unresolved” legal questions and the proposed unit’s “unprecedented size and internal differentiation” among job classes.The new union would cover more than 2,700 full-time, part-time and adjunct faculty across hundreds of disciplines in 22 schools and the USC libraries.

The union, as approved by the vote, would also include non-tenure-track faculty at all USC schools aside from the Keck School of Medicine.USC administration says the union would be composed of people whose jobs are unrelated, and argues that those employees already tend to have a say in the workplace through faculty representation in the university’s shared governance process.

Union supporters contend that the thousands of workers — despite different titles and job areas — face similar dis-empowerment in their day-to-day jobs.A total of 1,821 eligible employees participated in the vote, with pro-union ballots at 1,272 and those opposed at 549.“Our margin of victory was incredible, which underscores the tremendous support for our union and the urgent need to improve our working conditions,” said Kate Levin, a USC associate professor of writing and union organizer.“We are also extremely disappointed in USC’s latest delay tactic.From the beginning, the USC administration emphasized the importance of this election — they said, ‘your vote matte...