Thought Leadership

Private Colleges and Universities Experiencing High Levels of Union Organizing

May 15, 2014 Advisory

The efforts of Northwestern University football players to form a union may have garnered the most national media attention, but private colleges and universities across the country have seen union organizing efforts since the start of the year. 

Sixteen different colleges and universities have been served with petitions at the National Labor Relations Board by unions just since the last week of January of 2014. Four of the petitions have gone to elections in which results are final and the unions won all four of those elections. The unions involved included the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), Steelworkers, and various Police and Security unions. The targeted employee groups have included faculty, maintenance, service employees, and security forces. These colleges and universities are located on both coasts and the Midwest. 

The NLRB has also invited briefs from interested parties in two important cases involving institutions of higher learning. In Pacific Lutheran University the NLRB is seeking amicus briefs on the issues of whether the NLRB should be exerting jurisdiction over religiously affiliated colleges and universities and what test should be used when deciding that issue. In Northwestern University the NLRB is seeking amicus briefs on the issue of whether scholarship student athletes are employees as defined by the National Labor Relations Act. 

Colleges and Universities are solid targets for union organizers because they don’t outsource jobs, have lower turnover and are often some of the larger employers in their communities. Their positions are also often less likely to be replaced by advancements in technology unlike manufacturing. 

In addition to increased union organizing attempts, institutions of higher education face a number of legal issues in 2014 including compliance with Title IX and the Amendments to the Violence Against Women Act. 

Due to the growing number and variety of these legal challenges, colleges and universities need competent legal counsel that understand the unique nature of their organizations and the problems they face. Armstrong Teasdale lawyers regularly counsel large universities and small liberal arts colleges and can assist higher education systems with a full range of legal issues.

Contact Us
  • Worldwide
  • Boston, MA
  • Chicago, IL
  • Denver, CO
  • Dublin, Ireland
  • Edwardsville, IL
  • Jefferson City, MO
  • Kansas City, MO
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • London, England
  • Miami, FL
  • New York, NY
  • Orange County, CA
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Princeton, NJ
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • St. Louis, MO
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Wilmington, DE
Worldwide
abstract image of world map
Boston, MA
800 Boylston St.
30th Floor
Boston, MA 02199
Google Maps
Boston, Massachusetts
Chicago, IL
100 North Riverside Plaza
Suite 1500
Chicago, IL 60606-1520
Google Maps
Chicago, Illinois
Denver, CO
4643 S. Ulster St.
Suite 800
Denver, CO 80237
Google Maps
Denver, Colorado
Dublin, Ireland
Fitzwilliam Hall, Fitzwilliam Place
Dublin 2, Ireland
Google Maps
Edwardsville, IL
115 N. Second St.
Edwardsville, IL 62025
Google Maps
Edwardsville, Illinois
Jefferson City, MO
101 E. High St.
First Floor
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Google Maps
Jefferson City, Missouri
Kansas City, MO
2345 Grand Blvd.
Suite 1500
Kansas City, MO 64108
Google Maps
Kansas City, Missouri
Las Vegas, NV
7160 Rafael Rivera Way
Suite 320
Las Vegas, NV 89113
Google Maps
Las Vegas, Nevada
London, England
Royal College of Surgeons of England
38-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London, WC2A 3PE
Google Maps
Miami, FL
355 Alhambra Circle
Suite 1200
Coral Gables, FL 33134
Google Maps
Photo of Miami, Florida
New York, NY
7 Times Square, 44th Floor
New York, NY 10036
Google Maps
New York City skyline
Orange County, CA
19800 MacArthur Boulevard
Suite 300
Irvine, CA 92612
Google Maps
Philadelphia, PA
2005 Market Street
29th Floor, One Commerce Square
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Google Maps
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Princeton, NJ
100 Overlook Center
Second Floor
Princeton, NJ 08540
Google Maps
Princeton, New Jersey
Salt Lake City, UT
222 South Main St.
Suite 1830
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Google Maps
Salt Lake City, Utah
St. Louis, MO
7700 Forsyth Blvd.
Suite 1800
St. Louis, MO 63105
Google Maps
St. Louis, Missouri
Washington, D.C.
1717 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20006
Google Maps
Photo of Washington, D.C. with the Capitol in the foreground and Washington Monument in the background.
Wilmington, DE
1007 North Market Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Google Maps
Wilmington, Delaware