RESOLUTION ON YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

On February 20, 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a five-to-four decision in the case of the National Labor Relations Board vs. Yeshiva University. The decision denies faculty at Yeshiva coverage by the National Labor Relations Act, arguing that through existing governance mechanisms faculty manage the institutions to so great an extent that they cannot be considered employees. In short, the decision denies the rights of collective bargaining under the NLRA to the faculty at Yeshiva University and at any other similar "mature" private college. Justice Powell found for the majority that "the faculty of Yeshiva University in effect, substantially and pervasively, operate the enterprise;" the employer institution is entitled to "the undivided loyalty" of its representatives who are thus "aligned" with management, and cites the control over curriculum, grading policies, and student admissions as evidence of the faculty's management rights. Justice Brennan, dissenting, questioned why the faculty at Yeshiva University voted to unionize in the first place if they had so much authority and argues that by demanding a faculty member's "undivided loyalty to management," the decision "is antithetical to the whole concept of academic freedom." Brennan warned that the court's decision would undermine existing collective bargaining agreements and "contribute to the possibility that recurring disputes will fester outside the negotiation process until strikes or other forms of economic warfare occur."

Justice Brennan's prediction of labor strife has come true, and the 26 AFT locals with bargaining rights at private colleges are squarely in the middle of it. Since the decision, six of these institutions have formally announced their intentions to discontinue bargaining and more than a dozen others have made similar threats. Twenty-three chapters of the AAUP and six NEA locals face similar difficulties.

The Yeshiva decision is wrong for several fundamental reasons. First, it is bad law. The record of fact is distorted, inaccurate, and does not reflect the actual nature of employee/employer relations at Yeshiva University, let alone any other college or university. Faculty do not manage their institutions; a small group of high administrators does. Second, the decision creates mischief making possibilities for any institution that wants to bargain in bad faith, avoid bargaining altogether or break the faculty union. Third, the decision undermines the collective bargaining process in a wide variety of work settings outside the private college sector, particularly in the area of workers' participation in decision making. Finally, if the logic of the decision were to be carried into the K-12 classroom, any teacher involvement in educational policy making could form the basis for a school board complaint that they are not entitled to the rights of collective bargaining.

WHEREAS, American Federation of Teachers has always been and continues to be dedicated to the rights of private as well as public employees; and

WHEREAS, as a result of this decision of the Supreme Court, some private colleges in the midst of collective bargaining have abruptly broken off negotiations and refused to bargain with their professional employees; and

WHEREAS, it is American Federation of Teacher policy that faculty and staff participation in decision making including peer review and other internal governance, is compatible with collective bargaining:

RESOLVED, that the AFT views this decision as a fundamental violation of basic employee rights, as an attack against its state and local affiliates, and as an affront to the sensibilities of this nation's college professoriate in particular and the labor movement in general. The AFT is strongly opposed to the current Yeshiva decision and is totally committed to reversing it and its effects by whatever means necessary.

RESOLVED, that the AFT will aid its locals in the filing of unfair labor practices at each affected institution and assist them in whatever militant action may be required to maintain existing bargaining rights.

RESOLVED, that the AFT actively seek another case to bring before the Supreme Court in which the facts of faculty governance and collective bargaining are accurately represented and seek legislative remedy through amendment of the National Labor Relations Act.