Schools of Thought Contend: Strategic Diversity in Higher Education Faculty Organizing

• In Event: Organizing and Union Strategy

Abstract

Unionization among higher education faculty has increased dramatically over the past decade. While much of this growth has occurred among non–tenure-track faculty at non-profit institutions, labor has made gains across the academy. We examine the determinants of this wave of successful unionization by linking institutional factors associated with organizing campaigns to the strategic orientations of faculty unions. Drawing on a novel dataset of union certification efforts, we argue that organizing success should be assessed using a three-part measure: certification success, election outcomes, and the degree of worker participation in certification elections. Using both bivariate and multivariate models, we show that contemporary faculty organizing has proceeded through distinct strategic pathways. In particular, recent organizing has been energized by unions that have newly entered the higher education field and have undertaken riskier campaigns.

Authors

• Joseph van der Naald, CUNY-Graduate Center

• Jacob Apkarian, CUNY-York College

• William A Herbert, Hunter College, CUNY