MSU’s nontenured faculty likely will start the process of unionizing after approving a new proposal. Faculty members voted Friday to pursue the possibility of unionizing in hopes of bringing more job security to faculty members without tenure.
MSU has smartly supported their potential to unionize, even though it could end up costing the university money.
Tenured professors are becoming extinct in East Lansing and the number of fixed-term faculty at MSU has increased 70 percent in the past decade. This growing section of the university’s work force deserves the right to represent itself. After all, they’re just as responsible for teaching students as the tenured professors are.
Unionizing would bring wage standards and job security to an industry that is unstable at best. Teaching positions are rare throughout the state with most schools looking to cut their budgets instead of hiring more employees. MSU is smart to let its employees try to gain some peace of mind.
Faculty without tenure, some of whom have been working here for 25 years, would be able to work harder without having to worry about losing their jobs to budget cuts. It might seem like that benefit would be small, but the relief of job security can do a lot for a person.
Who knows, maybe having them around longer will give them the chance to earn tenure. Keeping more educated people on campus can’t hurt the university.
That’s not to say there aren’t some potential drawbacks with this plan. Often when workers unionize, even if the management is cooperative, some will lose their jobs. The cost of unionization often comes out of the employer’s budget for workers. Raised wages mean fewer workers can be afforded and people usually have to be fired. Unionization will hurt MSU in the poor economy.
When the economy picks back up, these firings won’t need to happen. MSU will hire more educators as soon as it can afford it. Unionization will hurt some workers in the short term, but will cement their importance at the university.
As with any union, there is always the concern about a strike. Since many classes rely on fixed-term faculty, a strike could end up hurting students as badly as it hurts the university. But MSU is not new to collective bargaining. If they choose to unionize, the faculty will be treated with the same respect other unions on campus are given. Students shouldn’t be worried about the prospect of professorless classes.
In the coming months, the nontenured faculty might never actually unionize. All of this could become a moot point very easily. But the university wants its employees to have the right to protect themselves. Even if nothing comes of this vote, it’s an important step.
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