A recent survey of tenure-track professors at the University showed split support for unionizing the faculty, with a slim majority opposing the idea.
Conducted by University economics professor Bill Harbaugh, the online survey found 48.4 percent of respondents opposed unionization while 38.7 percent were in favor.
Harbaugh said the survey was sent to 681 faculty members, with 221 responding to at least one of the questions.
Calling itself the United Academics of the University of Oregon, the proposed union is being jointly organized by the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers. Supporters began organizing in earnest this year, holding discussion panels and bringing in speakers from other unionized universities.
Oregon union organizer Dennis Ziemer said the group is currently “in the middle of organizing and assessing the situation.” He said the group hopes to hold an election on unionization within the next year.
However, Ziemer dismissed the survey and its results.
“We asked our supporters not to fill it out,” Ziemer said. “We’ve already done our own polls.”
Part of the problem was that the survey was originally released anonymously.
Mathematics professor and Acting Editor of the UAUO Marie Vitulli sent out an e-mail shortly after the survey was released.
“We can not condone a survey whose sender wishes to remain anonymous and whose purpose is unclear,” Vitulli wrote. “The manner in which the survey request was made violates the principle of informed consent and potentially biases the survey results.”
Harbaugh came out as the author of the survey shortly afterward and defended himself against accusations of bias.
“I think that the survey results are pretty consistent with what I’ve been hearing,” Harbaugh said. “There’s a slight majority against unionizing, but hardly a big one.”
Harbaugh said the results may in fact underestimate support for unionization, especially if some didn’t participate because of Vitulli’s e-mail.
Among the other interesting results of the survey, 45.7 percent of respondents said that “low pay compared to other comparable universities” was a “very important” issue in moving them towards supporting a union.
The University pays its faculty roughly 80 percent of the average salary of comparable institutions. Out of the 62 members of the American Association of Universities, an invitation-only group of the nation’s top research universities, the University ranks dead last in faculty salary.
Respondents said the most important issues leading them to oppose unionization were a tendency toward equalized pay and reduced incentives for good performance.
See the survey results at http://uomatters.com.
[email protected]
Professors surveyed about unionization
Daily Emerald
December 6, 2009
0
More to Discover