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10 April 2009

Tufts University launches volley against bid to unionize

Tufts University president Lawrence Bacow has issued a preemptive strike against a growing movement to unionize the school's 1,200 administrative, technical, and clerical employees, calling the efforts unnecessary. The Tufts Employee Association, modeled after Harvard University's two-decades-old union for 5,000 clerical and technical workers, has vigorously tried to recruit members in recent months. But Bacow says the union is not sanctioned by the university, which currently only recognizes unions for its police and facilities staff. "To say that we could work with the union should not imply that I think unionization . . . is a good idea. Far from it," Bacow wrote in an e-mail Thursday to Tufts employees. "I don't believe the formal process mandated by collective bargaining would help us address together the very real challenges Tufts faces in this economy." Nearly three dozen Tufts employees have signed a letter to colleagues saying they should unionize to protect their economic interests. Hundreds more support the effort, said Kris Rondeau, director of The New Union Project and who is helping organize Tufts. "Right now, Tufts is shaking a bit of a stick," said Rondeau, who worked as a research assistant at Harvard in the 1970s and who helped establish the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers. "We're not organizing against anything or about any issues. This is about self-respecting adults wanting a seat at the table." But Patricia Campbell, executive vice president at Tufts, said yesterday: "We just don't think we need the union here. Direct communication with our employees is a really good way for managers and employees to work together, and having another party in between isn't always effective." Along with his letter, Bacow issued a six-page fact sheet on the university's position, calling the formation of a union "not in the best interest of either Tufts or its employees." University rules prohibit employees from recruiting colleagues during work hours or using Tufts facilities or resources for organizing, the guidelines say. Union organizers say the fact sheet was meant to cast a chill on employees. A Tufts library worker, who spoke on the condition that his name not be published because he feared retaliation, said he wants to belong to a union so he and other employees will have more control over their fate. He would also like more job security, especially during uncertain economic times.
In his e-mail to employees, Bacow stressed that his stance did not reflect a personal bias against unions. He pointed out that his doctoral research and first book had focused on collective bargaining over health and safety issues, and he worked closely during his research with the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, the United Auto Workers, and the United Steelworkers. "I concluded then, and still believe, that in those industries where sharp distinctions are drawn between management and labor, unions can and do play a very helpful role in advancing the interests of workers," wrote Bacow, a lawyer and economist.
He went on to say, "During these challenging times, it is essential that we all work together to preserve all that is special about Tufts. I honestly believe we can best do so without the presence of an organization created to address different problems at a different time at a very different institution."

Source :www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/04/11/tufts_launches_volley_against_bid_to_unionize/

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