Chief human resources officer Kathy Neils answers staff questions about the National Education Association's attempt to unionize UNH staff.
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What does it mean to be organized into a union?
What are the stages of organizing?
Does being part of a union guarantee me salary increases and the same benefits?
If I agree to sign a union card, what does it mean?
What role will the Employee Councils have if the union drive is successful?
Who can I reach out to for my questions?
The National Education Association is both a union and a professional association. The NEA has identified and is attempting to organize UNH OS and PAT staff into a union they are calling the UNH Professional Association, or UNHPA. A union negotiates with an employer (a process called “collective bargaining”) on salaries, benefits and working conditions for those they represent. As a professional association, the NEA engages in political activity nationally on behalf of its members.
What does it mean to be organized into a union?
One of the most important aspects of unionization — and one that any professional should think about carefully — is that by unionizing, the individual employee selects someone else to represent him or her when it comes to compensation and working conditions. If a union were to be certified as the representative of OS and PAT employees, then you would no longer have the right to negotiate directly with your manager and supervisor on working conditions and compensation. This doesn’t mean you can never speak to your supervisor about such matters, but it does mean that the administration cannot deal directly with you when it comes to changes in your compensation and working conditions. Those matters would be subject to negotiations with the union.
Is the NEA organizing only OS and PAT staff, or are Extension educators included in their proposed bargaining unit?
At this time we do not know whether Extension educators are being included in the group the NEA proposes to represent.
What are the stages of organizing?
The process to establish a new union is called “organizing.” There are specific steps, which include:
1. collecting signed authorization cards from prospective members of the union;
2. filing a petition for election with the NH Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB), and
3. holding an election.
Because UNH is a public employer, the process of organizing is governed by the NH Public Employers Labor Relations Act. Under the act, an organizing union must collect signed authorization cards from at least 30 percent of employees in the proposed bargaining unit in order to file a petition with the PELRB for an election. If a union succeeds in obtaining such cards and filing a petition, the Labor Board will first determine if there are any questions about the proposed group of employees the union wants to represent (called a bargaining unit); hold hearings on the proposed unit if there are such issues, and ultimately conduct a secret ballot election to determine if the employees in the unit wish to be represented by the union. The election is determined by a majority of those who show up and vote. If the union wins a majority of those who actually vote, then the union is certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of everyone in the bargaining unit, not just those who voted.
Does being part of a union guarantee me salary increases and the same benefits?
No, being part of a union does not guarantee salary increases or the same benefits. In fact, even the salary and benefits that employees have today are not guaranteed in the future since negotiations will begin with no assumptions based on current levels. Being in a union does guarantee that you will have union representation to negotiate future salary and benefits.
If I agree to sign a union card, what does it mean?
You should read carefully any card you are asked to sign. As with any other document you are asked to sign, you should determine the nature of the commitment you are making with your signature. The card could be a membership card, which means you are actually joining the union and become subject to its rules, regulations and dues structure. Or it could be a card indicating that you would like the union to represent you in dealing with the administration.
But, most importantly, your signature on a union card means that you support the goal of staff being unionized.
Will I still have to be represented by the union if I do not sign a card, don’t vote or I vote no in an election?
Yes, if the union is successful in collecting signed cards from 30 percent of those in the proposed bargaining unit and a majority of those who cast a vote support the union, everyone in the proposed bargaining unit would become a member of the union, whether they have signed a card or not, and whether they have voted or not.
Will I have to pay any money to the union if it is voted in? What does it cost to be part of the union?
The NEA website states that their current dues for a full‐time employee equals $375.34 per year. (This dues level is defined by the NEA as an employee working 1,700 hours per year or more.) All members of the union would be required to pay dues if the union is approved by voting.
What role will the Employee Councils have if the union drive is successful?
Staff councils cannot play a role that would usurp or be a substitute for the responsibilities that a union would have as the sole representative of bargaining unit members. While groups like the OS, PAT and Extension Educator Councils may not disappear, if the union wins an election the union would be the legal and sole representative of all employees in the unit on mandatory collective bargaining issues. In general those issues relate to wages, benefits, hours and working
conditions. The university, by law, would be required only to deal with the union on bargainable topics.
Who can I reach out to for my questions?
Submit questions to UNH Human Resources here.
