Labor Watch: St. John's Axes Unions, CSU Strike Pays Off

"In recent years, it has become clear that the university does not have the flexibility required to fulfill its Catholic-centered mission while its core academic decisions are entangled in a collective bargaining relationship. St. John's is the second institution to use a religious exemption to shutter its union this academic year; in the fall, the Loyola Marymount University Board of Trustees announced it would no longer recognize its non-tenure-track faculty union and cease bargaining."

"In their most recent contract proposals, St. John's union leaders requested a 3.85 percent pay increase for full-time faculty and a 25 to 30 percent pay increase for part-time instructors, which they said would bring the university in line with peer institutions. Faculty are rallying against the revocation and collecting signatures on a petition urging Shanley to return to the bargaining table."

"A growing number of faculty unions are including provisions about artificial intelligence in contract clauses and memoranda-a trend that is likely to accelerate this year as AI poses an increasing threat to intellectual property protections and academic and research integrity."

St. John's University in Queens, New York withdrew recognition of its American Association of University Professors chapter and Faculty Association on February 19, ending union recognition that had existed since 1970. President Brian Shanley cited the need for flexibility to fulfill the university's Catholic-centered mission as the reason for revocation, which occurred on the 235th day without a contract. Faculty had requested 3.85 percent pay increases for full-time faculty and 25-30 percent increases for part-time instructors to align with peer institutions. This marks the second Catholic institution this academic year to use religious exemption to eliminate union recognition, following Loyola Marymount University's similar action. Meanwhile, faculty unions across higher education are increasingly incorporating artificial intelligence provisions into contracts and memoranda to protect intellectual property and research integrity.

Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs