The Chatham Board of Trustees has continued to refuse to recognize bargaining rights for any member of the faculty and their delay tactics have resulted in 11 months of NLRB hearings – quite possibly the longest in the history of the Pittsburgh regional office. Now starting in January 2025, the nation will be governed by a new federal administration. Based on the record of the first Trump administration from 2017-21, labor organizers are anticipating forthcoming changes to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that will be unfavorable to unionizing efforts. As a result, our case would likely be decided by an NLRB crafted by the new federal administration, which observers believe will be decidedly anti-union. Consequently, in consultation with our American Federation of Teachers (AFT) attorneys, Chatham Faculty United has decided to pause our campaign for recognition at this time and our attorneys recently submitted paperwork to withdraw from the NLRB hearings.
While we have withdrawn from the hearings, we are still an active union affiliated with AFT, and we, the Chatham faculty, will be determining together what our next steps will be. Over 80% of Chatham faculty indicated their desire to form a union by signing union cards and our reasons for organizing have not changed. Our decision to withdraw from the NLRB hearing process does not reflect an improved working environment. Nor does it indicate that Chatham faculty enjoy meaningful self-governance. Instead, this is a strategic legal decision to protect our future as a union and the future unionization efforts of faculty at other institutions. The facts in our situation have not changed and we do not concede the case. Furthermore, the Board of Trustees could choose to either voluntarily recognize CFU or allow the faculty to vote on whether to have CFU as our collective bargaining agent at any time: that has not changed.
While we will be delayed in achieving our desired outcome of collective bargaining rights, we can still take collective action. As Chatham Faculty United, we can still advocate for the priorities that brought us together: to protect pay and benefits; to create authentic shared governance; to ensure safe and healthy teaching and learning environments; to provide transparency around budgets and decision making, and hold decision makers accountable; to develop a formalized grievance process that protects those who report issues; and to build community. Chatham Faculty United can enact real positive change for the thriving university we all deserve. We invite the entire faculty to join us in January to talk about ways we can do that and to give faculty a real voice on campus.
Chatham Faculty United 