Adjunct faculty members at Northeastern University have voted to form a union affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, making it the third and largest institution in the Boston area to join the SEIU’s push to improve the pay and working conditions of part-time instructors.
The SEIU’s organizing efforts in Boston are part of the group’s broader national effort to organize adjuncts across metropolitan areas. Adjuncts at Tufts University and Lesley University have also voted to unionize with the SEIU, though last fall adjuncts at Bentley University voted against forming a union.
Stephen W. Director, Northeastern’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said the university will “bargain in good faith.”
“Whatever your views are on the question of union representation of part-time faculty, we all respect the decision that was made by those who were eligible to vote,” he wrote in an email to fellow administrators, faculty, and staff.
“All faculty members teaching at Northeastern are vital contributors to the university’s success,” he continued. “I look forward to continuing to work with you to advance our mission and sustain our unmatched momentum.”
Read more at: www.bostonglobe.com
