2 New Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Unions

Adjunct faculty members at Hillsborough Community College in Florida voted 339 to 189 to form a union affiliated with Service Employees International Union, they announced last week. SEIU also announced that part- and full-time non-tenure-track faculty members at Minnesota’s Augsburg College voted to form an affiliated union, but the college says the final election outcome is unknown, with a key number of ballots still disputed. A spokesperson for Hillsborough said, “Moving forward, we are committed to working with the SEIU to create the best possible teaching and learning environment for all [college] faculty and students.”

Karen Kaivola, Augsburg's provost, said in a statement to colleagues, “We will continue [to] operate openly, honestly and in good faith in this final phase of the election process and in its aftermath, whatever the final outcome of this election turns out to be. If the final vote affirms that unionization is the majority’s choice, some of the direct engagement we’ve enjoyed will change, but I am confident that, no matter the result or the scenario, our commitment to teaching and learning and to our students’ success will remain a shared priority.” The outcome of the ballot challenge won't change the election result, according to SEIU.