Miami University professors seek to unionize

A Miami University English professor says a strong majority of her coworkers want to unionize. Theresa Kulbaga says they've filed a petition with the state labor relations board.

“What that will do is it will either allow Miami University administration to recognize us as a union outright, or it will allow us to be recognized through an election process, hopefully in fall semester,” she says.

Kulbaga says a collective bargaining unit will give faculty a greater voice in how the university is run. “Universities are supposed to be run through shared governance between faculty and administration,” she says. “What we have at Miami right now is really a façade of shared governance. We have a lot of top-down decision making.”

Kulbaga says there is a university senate, but it's only an advisory board. She says professors and instructors are already represented by an advocacy chapter of the American Association of University Professors.