Frequently Asked Questions

Why is LMU talking about unionization now? Why is LMU using a Webinar format for its Town Hall? Why can’t participants see all the questions and comments?  

Answer: The timing of SEIU’s filing of petitions to unionize the affected units (BCLA, CFA, and SFTV) came at the end of the academic year, and the resulting election date will occur after the academic year concludes. We decided that, given this timing, the best way to reach NTT faculty was via a virtual format designed to encourage easier access and more widespread participation. The webinar format also allows large numbers of faculty to choose to participate anonymously and to submit their questions anonymously as well.  We were delighted that the first Town Hall had a robust attendance of over 89 participants and were happy to host a second Town Hall due to the volume of questions and comments we received from the first Town Hall. We heard you, and for the second Town Hall, we allowed the Q&A feature to be viewable by all participants. We have also posted below a large portion of the questions received thus far. 

If unions are so negative, why does the Catholic Church support them? Why does the Catholic Church support unions (if they are not pro-employee)? Why is the university's position not more explicitly in line with Rerum Novarum?   

Answer: LMU’s Catholic and Ignatian values of social justice and the dignity of every person are at the center of decision-making at LMU. This values-centered philosophy and practice does not mean there are no disagreements at times among us about certain decisions and the direction of the University. LMU must balance Catholic teachings with the modern workplace and the unique imperatives of higher education institutions. Above all else, Catholic teachings, including the Rerum Novarum, emphasize honoring the dignity of the working class. We believe we do honor and value each and every LMU employee and do not believe that a union is necessary to assist us or require us to value and respect NTT faculty. The partnership and agreements between “capital” and “labor” that the Rerum Novarum discusses can include labor organizations but are not limited to such structures. At LMU, we believe in faculty governance–of which NTT faculty are a part–and our longtime beneficial partnership with our faculty has steadily improved compensation and benefits over the years.   

Many LMU non-tenure-track faculty make wages that put them below the poverty line in Los Angeles. Can LMU not afford to pay higher wages to non-tenure track faculty? 

Answer: The high cost of living in Los Angeles affects every member of the LMU community, including faculty, staff, students, and their families. When it comes to the LMU budget, our goal is to improve the compensation and benefits of all categories of LMU employees while keeping an LMU education as affordable as possible. Budget constraints at LMU are real, and tuition dollars make up a large portion of LMU’s revenue. Thus, we have found in the past that there can be no increases in compensation or new programs and initiatives without raising tuition and increasing private gifts and donations. Despite our budget constraints, LMU has undertaken compensation initiatives in the past, which have already benefited faculty and staff.  

Although there have been numerous references to “poverty wages'' in some comments or questions we have received, it is our understanding that for most NTT faculty, LMU is not their only source of income. Only teaching part-time as one’s sole source of income would undoubtedly lead to a reduced income level, but LMU is not questioning each individual NTT faculty member’s situation and has worked hard to maintain full-time non-tenured teaching lines where possible and warranted by student demand. National forces in higher education are clearly at work at LMU as well. Unfortunately, there simply aren’t enough tenure-track teaching positions available in the U.S. or at LMU to accommodate all qualified doctorates or terminal degree-holders who wish to teach full-time.  

Why are only BCLA, CFA, and SFTV included in the proposed collective bargaining unit? If my college isn’t in the CBU, will it be possible for us to join the union eventually? Who determined which colleges/schools would be in the CBU?  

Answer:  LMU did not define the initial bargaining units petitioned for by the union, the SEIU did.  LMU and the SEIU ultimately agreed to a proposed single unit encompassing most NTT faculty in BCLA, CFA and SFTV.  While a few exclusions of titles were made, the unit that will be put to a vote beginning May 20, 2024, is substantially similar to the units petitioned for by the SEIU.  Faculty in schools and colleges not included in the proposed unit (SOE, CBA, SCSE, and LLS) are not eligible to vote in the upcoming election and will not be members of the bargaining unit should a majority of eligible NTT faculty vote in favor of union representation. 

Why is LMU reliant on NTT Faculty? And since LMU is so reliant on NTT Faculty, why not offer better working conditions? Why is the administration pushing back against the NTT Faculty union campaign when our own students have also been challenging whether or not LMU is actually fulfilling its mission and values?  

Answer: LMU, like almost all other institutions of higher education, balances its evolving academic, administrative, and financial imperatives by employing a variety of employee types. The number of NTT faculty and their credit hour production has fluctuated over the years.  LMU, like most other universities, does rely on NTT faculty to help it flexibly serve the needs of students and academic departments as enrollments by college, school, and program fluctuate and demand for coursework shifts. LMU sincerely values the contributions of NTT faculty toward students.  

How does a union promote merit-based compensation? What effect does this have on benefits, insurance, 401K, etc? Do you need to join the union if your college/school is getting unionized? I understand that the union agreement applies to everybody in the category that is being represented by the union, but does one need to be a union member? Will a union affect hiring decisions or change hiring at LMU? What are the administration’s fears about unionization? 

Answer: The truth is, we don’t know yet. Although we will continue to work hard to keep LMU as a great place to work, we previously acknowledged that we cannot create scenarios or make promises about what will or will not happen if the eligible members of the collective bargaining unit vote to be represented by a union. While the SEIU has made claims about what the future will look like for LMU NTT faculty based on their contracts at other universities, the reality is that we will engage in good-faith bargaining, and we do not know now what the outcomes will be. 

As we’ve previously stated, all individuals who are part of the proposed unit are eligible to vote and will be represented by the union in collective bargaining if the NTT faculty vote to approve a union. If the collective bargaining agreement contains a union security clause requiring dues, all members of the bargaining unit will more than likely be required to pay such dues. LMU leadership does not fear a union, but we are concerned that the union will have an impact on collegiality, interdisciplinary cooperation between NTT faculty and schools in the union and those outside the union, and the various voluntary initiatives that LMU commenced but would not have finalized in their conception let alone completed prior to unionization. We prefer to partner with our faculty through shared governance and other methods versus introducing a third party into the university that requires us to bargain against each other.   

If a union, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), becomes your exclusive representative for purposes of collective bargaining, your rates of pay, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of your employment will be subject to collective bargaining between the union and LMU. The union will have the sole and exclusive right to negotiate for you regarding those terms and conditions of your employment.

You would not be able to negotiate directly with administrators, deans, or department chairs on any term and condition of employment that is subject to bargaining. This would include all future changes in your rates of pay, wages, hours, and other conditions of employment.

Your legal rights to negotiate those terms and conditions of your employment are transferred to the union. LMU may not extend different terms to any members of the bargaining unit, unless such terms are agreed to by the union in a negotiated collective bargaining agreement. The exception is if negotiations reach an impasse, in which case LMU can impose terms and conditions as long as it proposed such terms during collective bargaining before an impasse was reached.

An individual employee or group of employees can still present their grievances to their employer, but any adjustment of the grievance must still align with the collective bargaining agreement, and the union’s representative must be invited to any meeting held to adjust the grievance. Bottom line, even though employees retain the right under the law to present their grievances to LMU, the union can be present and the negotiated collective bargaining agreement will still govern the outcome.

No. LMU’s position is that we are pro-employee; we are not anti-union. As we are committed to our NTT faculty, our stance preserves your and our legal right to deal directly with LMU on issues of rates of pay, wages and other terms and conditions of employment. The NTT faculty are essential to LMU’s shared governance, and we hope that this mode of directly working together continues.

You have the choice to speak with union representatives or not, as we respect an individual’s right to speak to and/or meet with union representatives. You have the right to inform them of your position. The rights of NTT faculty to participate or not, are equally protected under the law. However, we do not permit representatives from any outside organization, including unions, to interrupt or interfere with classroom instruction. We will take appropriate actions should such disruptions occur.

You may be asked to sign a union authorization card. An authorization card is your statement authorizing the SEIU to act as your exclusive collective bargaining representative in dealing with LMU concerning rates of pay, wages, hours of work, and other terms and conditions of your employment. If you change your mind, it may be difficult to retrieve a signed authorization card once it has been submitted to the union.

If the SEIU obtains signed authorization cards from 30 percent of the NTT faculty, it may file a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) petition requesting a secret ballot election. The NLRB will usually then order a secret ballot election and oversee the election process. If the SEIU obtains signed authorization cards from 50 percent plus one additional NTT faculty member, the SEIU may request LMU to voluntarily recognize the union without a secret ballot election. In this case, in accordance with NLRB procedures, LMU will seek a secret ballot election to determine the results.

You have the unfettered right to vote, without harassment or intimidation, “yes” or “no” on the question of whether you wish to be represented by SEIU, Local 721. You have the right to disclose, or not to disclose, how you intend to vote or how you did vote in the election. LMU encourages all eligible members of the Non-Tenured Track faculty to vote. If the SEIU receives votes from 50 percent plus one additional NTT faculty member in the NLRB-conducted election, then the SEIU will be certified as the collective bargaining representative for all the NTT faculty. For example, if the bargaining unit includes 25 employees, but only 10 cast a ballot in the election, the union would win the election with only six votes. For anything that requires voting, those who show up determine the outcome. This means that no minimum quorum of those voting is required before votes cast in a secret ballot election are counted. 

Not necessarily. It is unknown what may result from the collective bargaining process. LMU and the union would be negotiating in good faith over mandatory subjects of bargaining; however, that does not guarantee that an agreement would be reached. A union cannot unilaterally increase compensation, though it might make that promise to you. With the union as your representative, you could earn more, less, or the same, depending on what happens during collective bargaining.

Not necessarily. Job security is a mandatory subject of bargaining. But, there is no legal obligation on the part of either LMU or the union to agree on any terms. We believe that ultimately the best way to ensure NTT faculty job security is to provide our students with the best educational experience possible and achieve our academic mission.

If the union becomes the exclusive representative of the NTT faculty for purposes of collective bargaining, then the union’s input on any budgetary decisions will be subject to the customary rules of collective bargaining.

As a general rule, budgetary decisions unrelated to terms and conditions of employment, such as capital expenditures or other economic expenditures, are reserved for management and are not subject to collective bargaining. In such a case, the union cannot insist on bargaining over budgetary decisions and it will not have a say in those decisions. 

Under an SEIU contract, NTT faculty may find themselves subject to “one size fits all” rules and restrictions under a collective bargaining agreement. It is very difficult for the union to take every NTT faculty member’s unique needs and preferences into consideration during negotiations. What may be important to you may not be as important to the negotiation committee or consistent with SEIU’s national agenda. In addition, the SEIU would be your exclusive bargaining agent, and under federal labor laws, it would be illegal for LMU to bargain with individual NTT faculty, or with groups of NTT faculty, within the bargaining unit over your terms and conditions of employment, such as rates of pay, wages and other terms and conditions of employment.

No. The union contract would apply to all NTT faculty members included in the bargaining unit, regardless of whether they approve of the contract or not.

That is unlikely based on what other SEIU locals have negotiated at other institutions of higher education. In their contracts with George Washington University and American University, SEIU agreed that these schools would retain broad discretion to determine what courses are offered and who will teach them, including language stating, “decisions regarding who is taught, what is taught, how it is taught, and who does the teaching involve academic judgment and shall be made at the sole discretion of [the school].”

No. Not all contract negotiations result in a final agreement. In fact, the law expressly states that the obligation to bargain in good faith does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or require the making of a concession.

This rule is established in Section 8(d) of the National Labor Relations Act and is stated on the NLRB's website: “It is an unfair labor practice for either party to refuse to bargain collectively with the other, but parties are not compelled to reach agreement or make concessions.” 

In the event of a deadlock, the parties may agree to involve a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to help reach an agreement. The involvement of a mediator, however, does not guarantee that agreement will be reached. Meanwhile, LMU can make a final offer based on what it had previously offered during collective bargaining negotiations. The union then has the option of calling a strike to try to force LMU to agree to its proposals. It is also possible that the union may either accept the university’s final offer or simply “walk away” and abandon the negotiations. At this time, no one can possibly know what the outcome might be.

The unionization effort that occurred in AY 2013-14 did not result in the formation of a union. The SEIU withdrew its petition for election, halting unionization efforts on campus.

The successful removal of a union first requires 30 percent or more of the bargaining unit to sign a decertification petition and a majority of voters to vote in favor of decertification in a subsequent secret ballot election conducted by the NLRB. NTT faculty members who wish to oust an existing union will likely need to retain legal counsel and engage in campaigning – all within specific, tight timeframes. It is unlawful for the university to assist in these efforts.

For more information, visit NLRB Decertification Election.

It may. It is difficult to say with certainty whether the ability of an NTT faculty member to serve on the Faculty Senate would be affected as such participation and the nature of their voting rights would likely be a part of the collective bargaining process.

The election will be held by mail-in ballot. Ballots will be mailed to the home addresses of eligible faculty members on May 20 and will be counted at the NLRB Region 31 office on June 11 at 10 a.m. 

We do not fear unionization, and we do not believe it is in the best interests of the NTT faculty. But that is up to the NTT faculty to decide. We are concerned about potential challenges that could arise if we are no longer able to interact directly with a subset of our university faculty on wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Yes, if you were on the payroll as of April 27, 2024, with some exceptions noted in the Notice of Election that was posted and distributed to NTT faculty on May 14, 2024. NTTF who were not on the payroll at that time but who have a reasonable expectation of returning are also eligible to vote. We strongly encourage every eligible voter to vote, as the vote for or against unionization is determined by the majority of those who vote in the election.

Yes, by law both parties are required to bargain in good faith, and we intend to do so should the union win the election.

We understand that union dues will be based on a percentage of your salary from LMU. The union contract would apply to all NTT faculty members included in the bargaining unit, regardless of whether they approve of the contract or not. 

We respectfully disagree with the implied statement in the question, that LMU has not done enough to hear the voices and concerns of the NTT faculty. LMU faculty and management have successfully partnered based on collaboration, mutual trust, and communication, accomplishing many significant outcomes for NTT faculty. Those included compensation increases, healthcare, and other fringe benefits, significant changes to shared governance and representation for NTT faculty on the Faculty Senate, the principal governance body for faculty at LMU, changes in contractual processes, and many other changes that benefit valued NTT faculty colleagues. We are now holding the town halls because there has been an influx of questions from both NTT and tenured faculty about what unionization will mean for our university. 

The requirements of our 403(b) plan stipulate that participants work a minimum of 1,000 hours in a calendar year and contribute at least 5 percent of their salary to be eligible to participate in the matching contribution. 

The decision to launch the compensation initiative, which affects all faculty, not just NTT faculty, was not influenced by or based on the union campaign. LMU has been actively engaged in making compensation improvements for all faculty since 2017.  The current compensation initiative had been in the works for months before receiving LMU Board approval in December 2023 to move forward with a multi-year initiative, which allowed us to begin the process.

It is common practice for universities to engage legal counsel to assist with the legal process required under NLRB rules and, ultimately, collective bargaining. The SEIU also pays for legal counsel, and SEIU’s attorneys interact directly with LMU’s legal counsel.  

Ten years ago, the SEIU chose to withdraw its petition and LMU had no control over the union’s decision to withdraw its petition. LMU did not make promises at that time, either during that union campaign or that caused the union to withdraw its petition. LMU has worked prodigiously to improve pay and benefits for all faculty over the years and has made significant strides since 2017, including additional teaching resources, professional development opportunities, research-related offerings, and contract considerations.

LMU asked that visiting faculty be excluded from the unit given what we believe to be their lack of a sufficient community of interest with other NTT faculty and their limited terms of service under the faculty handbook. The SEIU agreed with this exclusion when negotiating a Stipulated Election Agreement with LMU. Since then, the SEIU has filed a separate petition to represent the Visiting Faculty, and that petition is being processed before the National Labor Relations Board.  

From the university’s perspective, we have made significant strides to improve NTT faculty support and conditions, including additional teaching resources, professional development opportunities, research-related offerings, and contract considerations. We value the NTT faculty who serve on Faculty Senate and encourage the continued collaboration in this and other venues where NTT faculty can voice their needs and concerns.  As you have been advised, while the union can make promises, LMU is barred from doing so by law so as not to interfere with the election. But, we can and proudly refer to our accomplishments and improved processes over the past many years.