Hamline adjunct faculty begins union vote

Adjunct faculty members at Hamline University are expected to begin voting tomorrow on whether to unionize.

The employees have two weeks in which to vote, and the National Labor Relations Board should announce results a few days after that, said Denise Welte, organizing director for the Service Employees International Union Local 284.

The union is campaigning nationally to organize adjunct faculty.

Hamline would be the first Minnesota college to hold such a vote. In April some faculty representatives joined Macalester College adjunct professors in announcing they would seek a vote. They cited concerns over pay, benefits and working conditions, as well as a desire to have a voice in the workplace.

The Macalester professors were scheduled to hold a vote this week, but have delayed it until later this year, Welte said.

Adjunct faculty at the University of St. Thomas are also seeking a unionization vote. Welte said representatives have filed a request for an election, and hope to hold one this summer.

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