Kristina Bugante
Editor in Chief
The Service Employees International Union withdrew its petition to represent University of La Verne adjunct faculty, causing the National Labor Relations Board to prohibit the SEIU from filing another petition with ULV adjuncts until January 2015.
The SEIU’s decision to withdraw the petition followed the NLRB’s dismissal of the six unfair labor practice charges the union had filed against the University earlier this year, according to the University’s union resource website lavernelabordialog.org.
“The unionization effort brought to light that there were adjuncts on this campus that had some concerns (and) that had some desires for something a little bit different,” said Chief Human Resources Officer Jody Bomba. “We’re not done yet. We know that we have greater opportunities, and we think we’ve begun some of those things.”
Bomba said she began to look at the way ULV treated all faculty and staff, especially the adjuncts, when she was hired a few years ago. A compensation task force that began in 2012 will continue this school year.
In spring 2013, focus groups were held as a part of the Adjuncts With Excellence, or AWE, a program used to interact and communicate with adjuncts and to serve as a resource for them.
When the SEIU filed the petition to represent ULV adjuncts as their exclusive collective bargaining agent in November 2013, Bomba said those programs had to come to a halt.
“The AWE program had to stop because as an employer we have certain requirements that we’re not allowed to implement,” she said. “We couldn’t even engage in anything that would look like we were trying to solicit information on what benefits do you want or what salary increase do you want—we had things had been begun that we needed to stop.”
“I’m beginning to see some signs of (the administration) getting more active and more proactive with the faculty,” said Rick Hasse, senior adjunct instructor of finance. “But there’s still a long way to go.”
The SEIU did not consult with any adjuncts or the University before withdrawing their petition. The University was notified through the NLRB.
ULV administration proposed to the NLRB November 2013 that regional campus adjuncts should be included in the union vote, but the regional campuses were ultimately excluded from the final ballots, which were cast in February.
“(The SEIU) alienated a lot of key faculty while they just concentrated on the main campus,” Hasse said. “They were never gonna win. They didn’t have the votes, and they knew that, and I think they realized that. So to save face, they thought they’d slither off into the sunset and try again another day.”
Interim Provost Jonathan Reed said administration is now working with the deans on a handbook that will serve as a resource for adjunct faculty, should they have any questions about policies, assistance with their teaching and more.
“We hear the concerns and we’ll try to address them as quickly as possible,” Reed said. “We’re taking this very seriously because adjuncts are a very important part of the students’ educational experience.”
Kristina Bugante can be reached at kristina.bugante@laverne.edu.
