Ithaca College

From Senior Vice President Nancy Pringle, Provost Linda Petrosino, and Professor Gwen Seaquist, representatives of the Ithaca College bargaining committee.

The bargaining teams for the college and the union met on March 8, and agreed to hold another session on March 9. A meeting has also been scheduled for March 15. The college’s bargaining team believes that progress continues to be made, and remains confident that through continued negotiations a contract agreement can be reached with the bargaining units representing part-time and full-time contingent faculty.

Claim of Unfair Labor Practices
On March 8, the college received notice from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) had filed an unfair labor practice charge against the college. The charge states that the college took adverse action against three full-time, year-to-year faculty members based on their union activity: Shoshanna Cole, Rachel Gunderson, and David Kornreich.

Ithaca College recognizes the right of employees to organize and has been negotiating in good faith. The college denies any violation of the National Labor Relations Act and looks forward to cooperating with the NLRB in its investigation.

What is an Unfair Labor Practice?
The National Labor Relations Act specifies certain actions taken either by employers or by unions that could constitute an unfair labor practice. Once a claim is filed, these actions are investigated by the NLRB.

The Albany sub-region of Region 3 of the NLRB will be handling the investigation of the complaint filed against Ithaca College, and the college, the union, and the charging parties will be contacted by the NLRB as part of the investigation.

More information about the contingent faculty union negotiations at Ithaca College can be found at www.Ithaca.edu/union.