For Immediate Release
May 29, 2025
Contact: Neil Bhaerman, nbhaerman@oft-aft.org
With University Funding and Independence in Jeopardy, Ohio University Declares War on Their Own Faculty
OU flouts overwhelming faculty union majority and SERB decision with frivolous appeal.
ATHENS, OH — Members of the United Academics of Ohio University (UAOU) are undeterred by Ohio University’s (OU) appeal of their unsuccessful objection to certification of the faculty union. OU’s action ignoring the will of the majority of their faculty threatens to divide the university community at a time when unity is needed to push back on state and federal attacks on the academic and financial independence of universities and colleges.
In March, OU faculty voted overwhelmingly to form their union, UAOU. The final vote tally, announced on March 24, was 453 votes for union representation and 189 votes against. Despite the clear result, OU challenged the election outcome with Ohio’s State Employment Relations Board (SERB). SERB ruled decisively for the union on May 7. On May 22, the university appealed SERB’s ruling to the Court of Common Pleas.
“We're proud of what we've accomplished by working together as faculty to build a union, and grateful for the support we've gotten from students and community members,” said John O’Keefe, an Associate Professor of History at Ohio University's Chillicothe campus. “The university is still trying to delay this process based on claims that haven't convinced the State Employment Relations Board, but we are ready to sit down and start negotiating a contract that will improve faculty working conditions, and therefore student learning conditions.”
Ohio’s public colleges and universities, including Ohio University, were the target of Senate Bill 1, an extreme bill that strips faculty of some collective bargaining rights, overloads administration with unfunded mandates, and demolishes bedrock principles of academic freedom. SB 1 was passed by the General Assembly this year and signed into law by Governor DeWine on March 28; it goes into effect on June 27.
“SB 1 was an attack on students, faculty, staff, and even the administration of our public universities,” said Matthew deTar, an Associate Professor in Ohio University’s School of Communication Studies. “The only way we’re going to protect academic freedom and maintain high quality instruction is to unite as a community. That’s why it’s especially sad and insulting that the university is refusing to recognize our union win and bargain with us in good faith. Their appeal won’t be successful, but it will sow division, waste time and money, and harm our ability to withstand unprecedented threats from the state.”
Nationally, colleges and universities have been in the crosshairs of the Trump Administration over a range of partisan political issues, including diversity and inclusion programs, student protests, and academic curricula. Harvard University, which has held out against inappropriate political edicts, has lost more than $2 billion in federal grants, had their nonprofit status threatened, and is currently in litigation over their ability to enroll foreign students. Additionally, drastic cuts at the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies have affected university budgets across the country.
"This year, universities in Ohio have had to deal with constant attacks by our state and federal government on academic freedom, research funding, workplace rights, and the rights of foreign students and faculty,” said Gretchen McNamara, a Trombone and Music Education Professor at Wright State University and President of the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors. “Since having a union gives faculty a collective voice that they can use to stand up for themselves, their students, and their institutions, it is no surprise that OU faculty voted overwhelmingly to form their union. Ohio University should drop their frivolous objection, respect the decision that faculty made, and work together to strengthen the university in the face of these politically-driven attacks."
Ohio University’s objection to the election results was based on two claims: that members-only meetings convened by the union were illegal and that too many faculty members were unable to vote due to delays in the mail ballot process. SERB dismissed the first claim by clarifying that members-only meetings are protected activity that is central to public employees’ right to organize unions and dismissed the second because the margin of the win was much larger than the number of eligible faculty who didn’t vote. If every non-voting faculty member voted against the union, pro-union faculty still would have won the election by more than 100 votes.
"I am deeply disappointed by the administration's decision to appeal the SERB decision to certify the first faculty union at Ohio University. I, like hundreds of others that voted to unionize, am ready to bargain,” said Sarah A. Webb, an Associate Professor of Instruction in Ohio University’s Department of Social Work. “This decision not only continues to waste our university's time and money, but also hurts students by not supporting those that are providing education in the classroom. In a time when people are losing their jobs and positions are being cut, spending money on outside legal counsel to deny the will of the faculty is downright irresponsible, and completely disrespectful to our students who are paying to attend Ohio University.”
“When working people come together and win their union with a majority vote, their employer has an obligation to respect that vote and begin negotiating a fair union contract,” said Melissa Cropper, President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. “After reviewing the university’s objection, SERB ruled that the election was fair and certified the union’s win. Ohio University needs to stop wasting time and resources by continuing to elevate this obviously frivolous objection. OFT members across Ohio stand in solidarity with UAOU and will do whatever it takes to help ensure these faculty members have a union voice and a union contract.”
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UAOU is affiliated with the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors and the Ohio Federation of Teachers.