Adjuncts at Mercy, Occidental Form Unions

Non-tenure-track professors at Mercy and Occidental Colleges voted to form unions affiliated with Service Employees International Union, they announced this week. At Mercy, where there were 831 eligible adjunct voters, 406 voted for a union and 100 voted no, according to information from SEIU. The union said more than 100 non-tenure-track professors voted in favor of unionization at Occidental. Mercy did not provide an immediate comment. Occidental said in a statement that it respects its adjunct professors’ decision and reiterated a promise by Dean Wendy Sternberg prior to the election to honor the outcome.