Miami University Faculty Vote "Yes" to Unionizing, But State Bill Could Prohibit Faculty Strikes

Tenured and tenure-track faculty at Miami University have voted to form a union, with 65% of eligible faculty voting in favor of the union.

The votes were tallied at the State Employment Relations Board in Columbus on May 17 after a two-week long mail-in election and a year-long campaign from the Faculty Alliance of Miami (FAM).

In a statement posted to their website, Miami’s administration said they may be at the bargaining table with FAM for a while.

“When the time comes, the University will negotiate in good faith and is committed to supporting our faculty, students, and our mission of academic excellence. While we can't predict how negotiations will play out or how long they will take, we expect it will take some time to establish our first faculty Collective Bargaining Agreement. In many cases, negotiation of an initial contract can take up to or beyond one year,” the statement reads.

But time is of the essence as the state legislature works to pass Senate Bill 83, which would prevent university staff in Ohio from striking, among other changes to Ohio colleges, like banning mandatory diversity training, requiring certain American history courses, and mandating tenure evaluations based on if the educator showed "bias or taught with bias."

Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio, D-Lakewood, spoke about the striking piece of SB 83 before the Wednesday vote. She said pay might have something to do with not having enough conservative faculty at Ohio’s universities.

“If you raise the pay, you probably raise how many faculty would be there,” she said. “To take away the bargaining rights seems counterintuitive if you are really trying to get more conservative folks at universities.”