What is the process for building a union?

The first, continual, and most critical step is talking with your colleagues. Nothing replaces or is more important than having organizing conversations. This can be as easy as speaking with colleagues about workplace issues, identifying a faculty union as the solution, getting them plugged into the Organizing Committee, and repeating the process by recommending other faculty for conversations. If you want practice with role-playing this kind of issue-based organizing, please sign up for a training session on our website.

Through these conversations, we identify key issues that we want to see addressed and continue to build support and solidarity among faculty. Eventually, when we have enough support—indicated by signed authorization cards–we will file with the PA Labor Relations Board for a union representation election. In order for an election to occur, a minimum of 30% of eligible faculty must support unionizing (though more is always better!). The PA Labor Relations Board will likely hold hearings to determine the exact group of faculty eligible to vote, and once that process is concluded, a union election will take place. When we win, we will begin negotiating for our first contract.

For now, we must continue talking with our colleagues in order to build strong union support; our goal is to speak with every faculty member across Penn State and build a majority. We will continue to grow our organizing committee and to seek representation from each department/unit on each campus throughout the Commonwealth to the extent possible. Throughout the process we will always act in solidarity with our colleagues, being vocal and taking action on issues as they arise.