Why a Union? Tip of the Week

An article in the Columbus Dispatch about an attempt by the faculty at Ohio University to organize a union helps answer the above question. There’s nothing new about why in this situation, but there are cogent reminders of the usual answer or answers to this question.

Faculty salaries at Ohio University lag those at comparable colleges, but that’s not the main reason. The faculty is frustrated with pay raises for administrators who don’t listen to their concerns. One professor was more pointed: “Administrators think of themselves as managers, but faculty as simple labor.” A version of that statement could be applied to companies and organizations all over the place.

Three other points are worth making, and then let’s get to the bottom line. First, OU administrators changed their mind about using a surplus in healthcare benefits to augment faculty salaries. That’s a big change of mind. Second, OU’s president received a new five-year contract and an $85,000 raise (more than 25%), boosting his comp to $380,000, compared to the average 3% raise for faculty members. Most OU professors don’t even make $85,000. Third, the Board of Trustees fully supports the president, despite faculty complaints. The relationship between the board of any employer and the executive team is often viewed as incestuous.

The bottom line is always that employees, particularly key employees, want to feel that they’re on the inside. They want to have a say in how the organization is run. If promises aren’t kept, input isn’t sought, and expressed concerns fall on deaf ears, it’s pretty hard for employees to feel like they’re part of something. Then when the top dog or dogs are paid several multiples of what key employees are making, fuel is added to the fire of discontent. The perfect storm for the entry of a union.

I don’t know who is right at Ohio U. I don’t know how much anyone should be paid. I do know that the things being said at OU are the things always said when union organizing occurs. One of the things that the faculty wants, according to the Dispatch article is shared governance. Someone, the president or the executive team, has to be in charge. The gift of a leader, however, is running the show but doing it in a way that allows everyone (or at least the majority) to feel that they’re part of running the show, too. You have to reach out. You have to listen. You have to take the good ideas of others and put them into practice and give them credit. And sometimes, you have to forego a pay increase. That’s what a leader does.

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   Loyal Bobcat says:

   January 11, 2009 at 9:27 am

   Nice summary of the situation at OU. The last paragraph says it all.