St. John's professors file charges after admin ends union recognition

St. John's University professors marched on May Day.

Courtesy SJU-AAUP

Faculty at St. John's University joined with members of other academic unions during the May Day march in lower Manhattan.

Courtesy SJU-AAUP

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Faculty at St. John's University have filed charges against the university administration with the state’s labor board after management unilaterally revoked its recognition of the two unions that have been a presence on campus for over a half-century. The SJU chapters of the American Association of University Professors filed charges with the Public Employees Relations Board April 13, two months after university leadership alerted the union covering over 1,100 faculty members that it was no longer recognized. 

The revocation of recognition, and the repudiation of the union’s existing contract with the administration “has impacted virtually every aspect of employment for bargaining unit faculty and resulted in the loss of myriad rights and protections that were established through over fifty years of collective bargaining,” the AAUP wrote in its petition to PERB. Management has repeatedly reiterated, according to the union, that it doesn’t consider faculty at the university to be represented by the AAUP at all.  

The AAUP’s charge against the university lists management’s refusal to bargain, institution of unilateral changes, circumventing of the union as well as interference with and surveillance of the union’s legally protected activities, including rallies. The two sides haven’t met for bargaining since Dec. 10, according to the charging document.

That bargaining session took place during a period of increased hostility between the union and management that began when the union filed another PERB charge last October that was later resolved. The union’s last contract expired in July, and bargaining was going smoothly, but slowly, until hostility increased late in the year, Sophie Bell, the SJU-AAUP acting president, said in an interview last week.

Still, the union never expected management to unilaterally disregard the union. 

“This was quite sudden, and quite unjustified," Bell said. “The university has some pretty bad ideas on how to run the university, and they're using this to advance those ideas." 

St. John’s management alerted professors directly that the recognition of their union had been revoked.  

“This afternoon, we notified the Presidents of the American Association of University Professors and the Faculty Association that we are no longer recognizing the unions as representatives of the faculty,” reads an email sent to professors by university president Brian J. Shanley and provost Simon G. Møller. “This decision was not made lightly or rashly, and we are committed to providing clarity on what this means for you and for the future of our university.” 

In that same email, leadership said it would treat its most recent contract offer made to the union in bargaining sessions last year as the active contract, even though the union never agreed to the contract. The union, in its charge to PERB, argued this unilateral move was illegal.  

“Because this matter is the subject of pending litigation, the University is unable to comment at this time,” Brian Browne, a spokesperson for St. Johns said in a statement on the PERB charge. 

Union members have responded to management’s moves by holding pickets and demonstrations, the perceived leaders of which have been targeted and threatened by the administration, Bell said. Professors have protested near campus and marched with hundreds of other faculty members from other academic unions on May Day in the hopes of spreading the word about the actions that St. John's management took.

The union leader is confident that PERB will hold management accountable, and that professors will prevail in its battle with the administration. 

"This state protects workers,” she said. “That’s why New York State recognized our union 56 years ago and it's why we know we’re going to win this fight.”