SEIU Claims Victory in Seattle U. Adjunct Union Vote

Adjuncts at Seattle University at odds with the administrative over their bid to form a union announced victory Wednesday. The claim was largely symbolic, since the ballots from their recent vote have been impounded by the National Labor Relations Board, pending the university’s appeal of the bid on the grounds that the institution is Roman Catholic and therefore outside NLRB jurisdiction. In a news release, adjunct professor Louisa Edgerly asked the university to drop its appeal, “respect the democratic process, and allow the votes to be counted.” The said adjuncts are “very confident” they won the vote to organize in affiliation with the Service Employees International Union, which is organizing adjuncts in metro areas across the country. In the Seattle area, Pacific Lutheran University adjuncts also have had their votes impounded, pending the university’s appeal of an adjunct union bid, also on religious grounds. A Seattle University spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.