Public universities reflect the state in which they exist. The state of Virginia just sent the governor a revised perspective on collective bargaining. Having worked in right-to-work states and collective bargaining states, my experiences indicate that faculty should avoid collective bargaining. This is an op-ed I published over a decade ago. Please note that the data in the article has been modified and updated to reflect today’s climate.
I would join a faculty union, but I have heartfelt apprehensions.
One: My dues might be used to support causes I don’t support. Resources earned by the sweat of my brow are mine. Nobody, nor any organization, not a church, not a union, not an employer, not a bank, should direct my earnings. The National Education Association and its affiliates spent over $45 million in last cycle’s elections, ranking 38th among 40,455 registered organizations. Spending on Republican candidates was zero, while over $1 million was spent on Democratic candidates, according to Open Secrets. Union resources used for anything other than vocational excellence are of little interest to me, regardless of partisan leanings in any direction.
Two: Breast implants, liposuction and other forms of “improvement” are bargained for by unions. This is offensive in teachers’ unions, such as the one in Buffalo, NY, that paid $5.4 million for such galling silliness in 2014. Even if a local bargained for it and a misguided school board signed on, the leadership should object to the folly. Focus on student interests.
Three: Education and training to improve my craft are scarce. A Wisconsin business leader claims that in 2015, 95% of training expenditures came from employers’ pockets. Some faculty unions abhor training. For example, training members on effective teaching, student counseling, and scholarly effectiveness is nonexistent. A workers’ guild, association or union without training is a lobbying enterprise, not an instrument of craft. What most people miss is that the NEA has 3 million members, and the foundation awards approximately 120 grants to educators each year. This means only a tiny fraction of members received funding. Based on typical grant funding levels, that works out to about only $0.15-$0.20 per teacher annually for professional development.
Four: Union executives are paid too much, too quietly. Rhonda Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, brought home $499,874 in 2024. Public service unions, including faculty and teachers, should willingly publish the compensation of each member and each executive.
Five: I should be fairly compensated for the quality of work produced. Merit pay should be a required component of compensation adjustments. The argument that there will be favoritism is true but hollow. Equal treatment regardless of effectiveness favors and protects incompetence. If management favors lackeys over productive workers, management should be replaced rather than meritorious workers punished.
Six: Incompetence in my craft should not be protected through groundless grievances. Some people in any job, public or private, leader or rank-and-file, are unproductive and such behavior should be addressed, not intentionally overlooked.Faculty tenure is critical, but it is demeaned when it protects laziness or incompetence.
Seven: My membership must be voluntary. I should never be forced to join any organization or coerced by law or peer pressure to join or support something I chose not to, even if only required to pay my ”Fair Share” of the cost of bargaining. Firewalls between organizational interests are impossible to construct. And fair to whom? I want to select who represents my interests personally; when, where and how.
Eight: State and federal labor laws — The Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), child labor laws and overtime — are a few essential elements of a fair workplace that are the direct result of labor unions and now codified in the law of the land. And, that is as it should be. Protection from abuse by systems filled with cronyism, patronage and favoritism is needed, but I am not convinced that faculty unions provide it.
Nine: Voting results on every aspect of union business should be made public, including the number of members represented, those eligible to vote and the ratio of paying members to represented workers. Who voted how is unimportant. The magnitude of commitment is vital.
Ten: A no-strike clause would have to be present in the contract. My first professional contract is with the student; they pay the freight and no one else. A 21st-century university is not a coal mine, a craft shop, or a shirtwaist factory, and will never become one. A university serves students, not profits. A public university is a government institution. FDR wrote a letter to Luther C. Steward, President of the National Federation of Federal Employees, in 1937. The letter detailed Roosevelt’s views regarding the Federation of Federal Employees’ proposals regarding the unionization of government employees. Likewise, George Meany, former president of the AFL-CIO, believed unions of government workers were unsound. There are no profits to be shared, only tax dollars to be spent.
Twenty-first-century faculty unions can and should celebrate individual passion and the quality of work produced in response to mission. Still, it takes a commitment to academic excellence and purpose, and nothing else.
Walter V. Wendler is the President of West Texas A&M University. His weekly columns, with hyperlinks, are available at https://walterwendler.com/.
