In my regular job as an editor and writer for NEA Today for Higher Ed, I talk to a lot of faculty and staff. I love these conversations! Ask a faculty member about their research, and the next thing you know, you’re learning why zebra fish are far superior to lab mice.
Lately, these conversations have turned dark. Often, we talk about the erosion of shared governance and faculty’s loss of autonomy and academic freedom. One Florida professor told me how she self-censors her syllabi, afraid to use the word “racism.” So many NEA Higher Ed members feel unsafe, unheard, and even under attack by campus administrators and lawmakers in some states.
My response? I’m sorry. It’s awful. And also: Get active in your union.
So, when I was invited to join the United Faculty of Florida’s effort to grow their union and power at Florida State University (FSU), I said yes. While the idea of knocking on doors and asking faculty to say yes to membership was a bit daunting (I don’t want anybody to yell at me!), I know that now isn’t the time to stand on the sidelines.
Unions have never been more popular with the American public—and never so under attack by billionaires and the politicians who do their bidding. A new Florida law, aimed at eliminating publicemployee unions through heightened thresholds for annual certification, meant faculty needed help—and fast—in building their membership and muscle.
Here’s what I learned from the experience:
1. SOMETIMES NON-MEMBERS ARE NON-MEMBERS BECAUSE THEY HAVEN’T BEEN ASKED TO JOIN.
I rarely volunteer for more stuff to do, but somehow, I am often “voluntold.” That’s how I’ve ended up as a union steward, a travel softball coach, a frequent foster mom to litters of adorable puppies, and so on. I know that if you just ask somebody to do something, they’ll often say … um, okay.
One morning in Tallahassee, when a colleague and I popped our heads into a film professor’s office and introduced ourselves, he quickly retorted: “Yeah, joining [the union] has been on my list to do.” How about we get it done now, we asked. His answer: “Um, okay.”
LESSON LEARNED:
People just need to be asked! Make the ask.
2. RELATIONSHIPS MATTER. (FOR EXAMPLE, I STILL CAN’T SAY NO TO MY SISTER.)
Midweek, I was walking around the statistics department with FSU religion professor David Newheiser and Michigan political science professor Alec Thomson (who also had volunteered to help). A day earlier, I had left some flyers with a senior statistics professor who told me it’s essential “to have a union with equal power to administration.”
So, when David, Alec, and I walked into a young professor’s office, I wasn’t surprised to see our paperwork on his desk. I also wasn’t surprised when he told us, “Yes, I’m joining. I talked to a colleague about it at lunch today.”
LESSON LEARNED:
It’s hard to say no to somebody you work with every day. Reach out to the people in your department, in your lab, on your hall, and ask them if they’re union members.
3. PEOPLE WHO LIKE PEOPLE CAN DO THIS. BUT SO CAN PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIKE PEOPLE.
I was paired on campus with FSU faculty, as well as NEA Higher Ed members and staff from around the U.S. Some of us were extroverts. Some not. Some liked to ask about faculty’s summer research plans or favorite local hikes, and would have stayed forever in that one office to learn about Afro-Caribbean dance as a form of protest. Others stayed focused. We dressed in union T-shirts. Or not. Some of us (OK, that was me!) complained about the heat, while others praised the sun, because it’s not like this in Chicago!
The point is, we were different people with one enormous thing in common: We believe faculty and staff should collectively bargain.
LESSON LEARNED:
You don’t have to be a certain kind of person to do this work. You just have to believe in what you’re doing.
SUCCESS!
In one week, our team of unofficial “organizers” talked with 451 FSU faculty members, in person. Meanwhile, another team had 100-plus conversations at Florida A&M University, the smaller, historically Black university across town. Many of these conversations turned into commitments to join the union, ensuring FSU and FAMU faculty can keep their union and their union contracts (which protect them from political firings and program closures) for at least another year. Personally, I had knocked on 100-plus doors. Only one person put up their hands and said: “No. Just no.” (There was no yelling!) The most frequent response? “Thank you for being here.”
