Students, Faculty Call on Marquette U to Recognize Union

Milwaukee, WI – On Friday November 8, students, faculty, and staff at Marquette University rallied in front of Zilber Hall on Wisconsin Avenue to mark the delivery of two petitions to the Office of the Provost calling on university leadership to recognize a union of full-time, non-tenure track faculty in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences. A petition from students included signatures from more than 550 students. Another petition from tenure-track faculty included signatures from more than 75 faculty.

In October, more than 65 percent of full-time, non-tenure track faculty in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences signed union authorization cards expressing their desire to collectively bargain their contracts with the university. Union card signers identify unfair wages, short-term contracts, and increasing workloads as some of the concerns that motivated them to unionize.

On Friday October 25, university leadership chose to not accept an invitation from the union UCW-WI to negotiate together to publicly announce a process to recognize the union. Instead, university leadership chose to invoke the university’s legal right for a religious exemption from an NLRB election to recognize the union.

Other Catholic, Jesuit universities have made the alternative choice to negotiate with unions and stipulate to NLRB elections to recognize unions. On Monday October 28, Saint Louis University stipulated to an NLRB election to recognize a union of graduate student workers. Saint Louis University, Fordham University, Loyola University Chicago, Georgetown University, and Santa Clara University all collectively bargain with faculty unions.

Students, faculty, and staff are calling on Marquette University to follow the examples of these other Catholic, Jesuit universities and stipulate to a free and fair election administered by the NLRB or another third party.

Both Pope Francis in Rome and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have made clear that Catholic social teaching strongly supports the right of workers to unionize. The union UCW-WI is calling on university leadership to live the university’s shared values.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.