A Plymouth State University faculty group wants its 174 full-time, tenure track professors to be able to form a union.
The State Employee’s Association (SEA) filed on behalf of the faculty Monday to hold an election with the New Hampshire Public Employees Labor Relations Board.
Eligible members would vote to join the SEA later this spring. More than fifty percent approval is needed to pass.
Supporters of the union, like Associate Professor Scott Coykendall, say that it will improve communication with current and future university administrations.
Now, we're trying to be forward looking and try to imagine ways in which as we have to make more difficult decisions in the future, the faculty have a stronger—the rightful say, really. We have a unique role to play in the institution, and that role should be codified.
In 2011 , adjunct faculty established the first collective bargaining unit at Plymouth State, citing wage and benefit discrepancies.
If approved, the labor union would be the sixth in the University of New Hampshire system.
