Goucher College contingent faculty win long fight for their union
After a year and a half, the final votes in the election have counted, and contingent faculty at Goucher College in Maryland voted 40-36 to join SEIU Local 500. This is the fourth institution of higher education in Maryland to organize a union in their workplace. This will also be the first combined SEIU unit of part-time and non-tenure full-time faculty.
Rollie Hudson, a Washington, D.C.-based filmmaker and part-time faculty member atGoucher College, said, “As a working member of the Goucher College faculty, I’m looking forward to collaborating with fellow Goucher College contingent faculty towards a fair and equitable collective bargaining agreement with the college’s administration. Personally, I remain committed to the standards of openness and equality the Gouchercommunity stands for and I’m confident that the current administration also remains committed to those principles.”
The Faculty Forward higher education movement is continuing to build momentum. This is the fourth contract ratified with SEIU Faculty Forward in the Maryland/DC area, with recent victories at George Washington University, Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia, and graduate students nationwide could join them soon enough, depending on an upcoming decision by the National Labor Relations Board.
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