FAQs

Union basics

A union is a labor organization that serves as a collective bargaining representative for a group of employees. The union engages in formal, periodic negotiations with an employer to establish terms and conditions of employment, such as wages, benefits, duration of appointment terms, and other employment matters. A union typically charges membership dues and/or fees for providing this service.

No. CalArts adheres to the principle that deciding whether or not to be represented by a union is a matter of employee free choice, and the Institute supports its employees’ right to determine for themselves whether or not they think unionization is beneficial. CalArts supports a fair, transparent, and neutral process that ensures its employees have the information they need to make an informed decision on this important matter.

Most union organizing drives are initiated either by a particular union that seeks members or by an employee or group of employees that approaches the union. The union becomes the lawful representative of a group of employees if an employer recognizes it as such or if employees vote in favor of union representation in a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent federal agency charged with administering the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRB issues rules and guidance, conducts union elections, prosecutes violations (unfair labor practices), and issues case decisions interpreting the NLRA.

By law you cannot be forced to become a full-fledged, dues-paying member of a union. However, if the union becomes the lawful representative of an appropriate group of employees (a “bargaining unit”), it will likely seek to negotiate a provision that requires those employees to remain members in good standing as a condition of employment. This would likely require an employee to become a “core fees” member of the union (see Glossary).

Regardless of whether or not an individual employee becomes a dues-paying or core-fees member of the union, all employees in the bargaining unit are represented by the union and would be covered by the terms and conditions of the collective-bargaining agreement negotiated by the union.

We don’t know. The union sets the dues and fees its members pay for its services. Union dues are typically set as a percentage of your earnings. In terms of the UAW, more information can be found on their website.

Yes. Employees who may be represented by a union may speak freely to each other about issues surrounding unionization. Employees are also free to speak with their supervisor or any of CalArts’ leadership regarding unionization. Employees also have the right not to discuss unionization or share their feelings about unionization. Employees speaking about unionization to other employees does not constitute an official statement or position from CalArts about the process—any official statements will be clearly marked as such.

CalArts respects each employee’s right to have personal opinions and their right to privacy. No person in their official capacity at CalArts will ever question an employee about their views regarding unions or union organizing efforts.

No. Any such consequences would violate the National Labor Relations Act, as well as CalArts employee policies, and run counter to our values. Supervisory employees, however, must not encourage or discourage non-supervisory employees from unionization as per the National Labor Relations Act, as provided in the supervisory training. No CalArts employee may retaliate in any way against anyone because of their views.

The timing is uncertain, as it depends on how negotiations progress. It’s not unusual for it to take a year or more to negotiate a first collective bargaining agreement. CalArts is committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a first contract.

Authorization process

Paid employees union organizers attempt to collect signed “authorization cards” from employees in the group the union seeks to represent. If the union collects enough signed cards to support a petition for representation (typically 30% or more of the employees in the unit), it can file a petition for a representation election with the NLRB.

The NLRB will then hold an election in which employees vote by secret ballot whether or not they want union representation. A union that believes it has evidence of majority support of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit may also demand voluntary recognition from an employer without giving those employees an opportunity to exercise their right to vote in an election conducted by the NLRB.

After obtaining a sufficient percentage of signed authorization cards), the union files a petition for an election with the regional NLRB office. The petition is sent to CalArts with a notice of a hearing to be held by the regional director of the NLRB. CalArts is given the opportunity to provide its position on whether the proposed bargaining unit is appropriate, as well as whether all members in the proposed unit are eligible to vote based on legal standards under the National Labor Relations Act. If the regional director determines that the proposed unit is appropriate, the NLRB directs a secret-ballot election to be held on a specified date and time.

Employees who contact fellow employees about the union do so on their own accord, separate from their roles at CalArts. This is true for both those who support, and do not support, such efforts. CalArts does not have an opinion for or against unionization, and its efforts, such as this website, are for the purpose of providing information only and will be clearly labeled as such. 

Union election

There are many variables that affect the timing of an election, including when a petition is submitted to the NLRB and the time needed to resolve any legal issues that may arise. Time may also be needed for CalArts and the union to engage in good-faith discussions to agree on the details on the location and time of an election.

Prior to the election, both the union and CalArts may provide information to help employees make an informed decision for or against unionization.

No, you do not have to vote in favor of unionization even if you signed an authorization card. The secret-ballot election is your opportunity to vote however you choose. However you choose to vote, it is critical that you cast a vote in order for your voice to be heard. An election is decided by the majority of those who cast a ballot, not the majority of employees who are eligible to vote.

An election to certify a union is decided by a simple majority of the votes cast by eligible voters—not by a majority of all eligible voters. This is an important distinction. A “Yes” vote means you wish to be represented by the union; a “No” vote means you do not wish to be represented by the union. If you do not vote either way, it reduces the number of votes needed to certify (or reject) the union.

A simple majority (50% plus one) of eligible voters who cast ballots decides the election. For example, if there are 200 employees in a bargaining unit, but only 20 of them vote, there would only need to be 11 “Yes” votes—a simple majority of the 20 cast—for the union to be certified. In other words, 11 employees will have made the decision for all 200. This is one reason why all eligible employees should vote either for or against union representation—it is the only way to make sure every employee’s opinion counts.

In counting the votes, a numerical tie in an election goes against certification.

Employees in an appropriate bargaining unit. The NLRB will decide what is an appropriate unit and who is eligible to vote based on their status as an employee under the National Labor Relations Act.

Some employees’ eligibility to vote may not be completely resolved at the time of the election. These employees will vote “under challenge,” meaning their votes will not be counted until their eligibility is resolved. It is still very important for these employees to vote.

Yes. Voting is by secret ballot and the election is conducted by employees of the NLRB, not the union or CalArts. Union representatives and CalArts officials may not be present at the voting locations during the actual vote.

The union would become the collective-bargaining representative for the unit of employees and the exclusive representative in all dealings with CalArts regarding a represented employee’s terms and conditions of employment. The current relationship between CalArts and its employees could be modified because CalArts will have an obligation to deal with the union concerning employees’ terms and conditions of employment and include the union in discussions with employees on these matters, especially before reaching agreements that could change terms and conditions of employment—even if the change is beneficial to the employee.

Technically yes, although this is unusual. The NLRB will not process a union decertification petition for at least one year after an election. Such a petition would need to be initiated by the employees themselves, with no assistance from CalArts or the union. If the union and CalArts agree on a union contract with a term of three years or longer, the NLRB will not process a union decertification petition for the first three years of that contract. Given this, it is difficult to decertify a union after it is certified as the official representative of a bargaining unit.

Collective bargaining

If a union is certified to represent a bargaining unit, it represents all employees in that bargaining unit, whether or not they choose to join the union individually. The union becomes the official collective bargaining representative of each employee, and has the authority to negotiate on behalf of all employees in the bargaining unit. Matters such as wages, benefits, and working conditions become subject to the negotiated terms and conditions agreed upon between the union and CalArts, and an individual employee may not negotiate directly through a dialogue with CalArts without authorization from the union.

Yes. While an employee who is a member of the bargaining unit may choose not to join the union, they would be represented by the union nonetheless, and would be covered by the terms and conditions of any union contract. However, it is likely that only those employees who join the union and pay union dues would be able to vote on union business, such as contract ratification or strike votes.

We don’t know. This is determined by the union’s internal rules and processes. Typically, the terms of contract negotiations are set by the union bargaining committee after the union is elected to represent the bargaining unit. The members of the bargaining committee may be either elected or appointed by the union.

Once collective bargaining begins, all terms and conditions of employment—such as wages, benefits, workload/hours, teaching responsibilities, etc.—are subject to union negotiations. The negotiated terms of agreement reached through the bargaining process would apply to everyone in the bargaining unit. CalArts would be prohibited from making exceptions to all or part of the agreement for any represented employee.

All matters related to wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment are mandatory subjects of bargaining. Examples include salary, workload, work hours, performance reviews, shared governance roles, health insurance, retirement plans, duration of employment, and disciplinary procedures.

That will be determined through the collective bargaining process, during which all matters of employment would be subject to negotiation. The union may or may not negotiate improvements in pay, governance, benefits, or other working conditions, and the result of a collective bargaining process could yield results either more or less favorable than what might be achieved without collective bargaining. The difference is that the format for such discussions becomes formal, periodic, and subject to terms agreed upon by the union and CalArts.

CalArts is committed to doing all it can to attract and retain the best faculty and staff, and to providing fair and equitable working conditions. The Institute will maintain that commitment with or without the presence of collective bargaining through a union.

Yes. Negotiations may result in changes that employees perceive as improvements, and they may result in terms that are less compelling or materially different than what is currently in place. During collective bargaining, all aspects of employment—including wages, benefits, and working conditions—are subject to negotiation, and may increase, decrease, or remain the same.

No. Any terms negotiated at another college or university would not automatically apply to CalArts, and CalArts would not be required to agree to terms because they are in contracts at other institutions. CalArts has a right to negotiate a collective-bargaining agreement relevant to its employees and you deserve a contract that recognizes your unique work and contributions to the Institute.

It depends. Generally, the negotiated terms of the collective bargaining agreement will govern the terms and conditions of employment for the bargaining unit employees.

We don’t know for sure. However, we believe shared governance and its participants, role, and purpose would be subject to negotiation and required to comply with negotiated labor/management definitions. Currently, CalArts’ unicameral, Institute-wide shared-governance structure includes not only faculty, but also staff and students for non-academic matters. It is possible that collective bargaining would shift the interactions between CalArts and its employees in a way that changes the spirit and practice of shared governance at the Institute.

 As with the question about shared governance, we are unsure how such participation might change. These matters would be subject to negotiation and required to comply with negotiated labor/management definitions.

If the union and employer cannot reach an agreement after engaging in good faith bargaining, typically the employer makes its final proposal, often called a “last, best, and final offer.” In response, the union will typically ask its members to vote on the proposal. If the members of the bargaining unit vote to accept (ratify) the offer, the parties have an agreement. If the members of the bargaining unit reject the offer, there is no agreement and the parties may restart negotiations, or the union may call a strike. If a genuine impasse is reached after good faith bargaining, the employer may unilaterally implement its last, best, and final offer.