Dear Colleagues,
I am writing with an update on the National Education Association’s campaign to unionize subsets of the university’s OS and PAT employees and, separately, a subset of Health Services/Counseling Center employees.
In total, the union’s three petitions filed with the Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB) cover approximately 500 of our 2,000 OS and PAT employees. The university believes there should be only two bargaining units — one including nearly all OS employees and one including nearly all PAT employees — and that having two groups would be less disruptive to our work environment and more aligned with our long history of shared governance with the OS and PAT employee councils.
There are several days of public hearings scheduled by the PELRB (March 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31 and April 4, 5, 6 and subject to change). The union and the university will present evidence to support what each thinks should be the composition of the bargaining units. Evidence may include documents, illustrations and witness testimony.
- Hearings are open to the public but the public does not participate in deliberations.
- Hearings will take place in Concord unless a different location is selected.
- Employees may attend on their own (non-working) time.
- Hearings will focus on PAT employees first, followed by OS employees and then Health Services/Counseling Center employees.
It is difficult to accurately predict how long the next steps will take. After the public hearings, the lawyers representing the union and the university have two weeks to file briefs. The PELRB has up to 45 days to make a decision. If an election(s) takes place it will take time after that decision to schedule.
There are many unknowns, but we are committed to providing as much information as we have to date. We will continue to share information to help you make what may be your most important decision as a university employee. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask your HR partner or reach out to me.
Kathy Neils
Chief Human Resources Officer
