51ĀŅĀ×

51ĀŅĀ× and United 51ĀŅĀ× of 51ĀŅĀ× (UAOU) have begun negotiations toward the development of the first faculty union contract at the institution since its founding. An initial meeting was held on Aug. 8, and additional meetings are planned over the next six weeks.

On May 7, the State Employment Relations Board certified a secret ballot process formalizing that UAOU, which is affiliated with the American Association of University Professors/American Federation of Teachers (AAUP/AFT), will represent approximately 800 faculty members at 51ĀŅĀ× in matters related to the terms and conditions of employment. The new union represents full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty, full-time non-tenure track instructional faculty and full-time non-tenure track clinical faculty, excluding faculty in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, select faculty in the College of Health Sciences and Professions, and part-time faculty, among other identified groups. Find more about the faculty included in the UAOU union on the Universityā€™s union website.

As the parties work toward a contract, 51ĀŅĀ×ā€™s representatives in negotiations include Senior Associate General Counsel and Director of Labor and Employment Relations Michael Courtney, General Counsel Stacey Bennett, Vice President of Finance and Administration David Moore, and Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice President and Provost Cary Frith. In addition, outside counsel appointed by the Ohio Attorney General from Columbus-based firm BakerHostetler are assisting the University during negotiations. UAOUā€™s representatives include 10 faculty members selected by the union and a national representative from AFT.

In keeping with law per Ohio Revised Code , which deems collective bargaining meetings between public employers and employee organizations to be private, the University will maintain confidentiality as it relates to matters discussed in negotiation meetings. As directed by the Board of Trustees, the University will work in good faith to negotiate legally mandated terms and conditions of employment as determined by .

During the negotiation process, OHIO will continue to maintain ā€œstatus quoā€ related to wages, terms and conditions of employment for faculty represented by the union, which is required by the stateā€™s guidelines on collective bargaining. Additional insight into ā€œstatus quoā€ as it relates to labor relations, alongside answers to many frequently asked labor relations questions that have been submitted by our University community, are available online.