To our students, colleagues and the broader Tulane University community, 

Welcome back to another academic year! We are excited for the changes this year will bring, and we wanted to take this moment to share some updates with our broader community. 

As you may have already heard, non-tenure track faculty at Tulane made history this summer: In a landslide vote of 83% in support, Tulane Workers United became the first recognized higher-ed faculty union in the state of Louisiana! Despite the broad assumption that unions cannot thrive in the Deep South, Tulane non-tenure track faculty — always the audacious — worked tirelessly over the past year to make this momentous change possible. 

We believe that our faculty union will not only improve the working conditions for faculty across Tulane but will raise the standard of excellence Tulane is known for in many other ways. Faculty working conditions are student learning conditions, and as a community, we rise together. 

If you are new to Tulane or have not been keeping up with our unionization campaign, you may wonder what this is all about. The best way to understand what a union means for Tulane is simply to look at Tulane’s motto: non sibi, sed suis — or, in English, “not for oneself, but for one’s own.”  

A union is a way for Tulane faculty to work together to improve all our lives at Tulane. Our union gives us a seat at the table with Tulane administration, and it gives us the opportunity to bargain for those things we all need to thrive, grow and succeed at Tulane. While job security and better compensation are some of the most obvious things for which unions bargain, they certainly are not the only things.  

In addition to addressing the economic insecurity that Tulane faculty often face, we hope to secure wins for all of Tulane: from limits on class sizes that benefit our students to establishing transparent, democratic processes for making decisions to advocating for a greater sense of social responsibility as Tulane engages with both the Uptown neighborhood and the city of New Orleans. We believe that, with faculty involved in the decision-making process, a better Tulane for all is possible! 

While we are optimistic about the future of Tulane, there is much about the current situation that deeply troubles us. We believe it is important that the Tulane community understands our concerns and motivations for seeking change. While Tulane faculty’s experiences vary based on a variety of factors, NTT faculty experience many difficulties impacting our lives and livelihoods. One of these is, of course, economic precarity. Students and parents are often surprised to learn that, despite Tulane’s price tag of over $88,000 per year — a price significantly above the national average — many full-time faculty make $50,000 or less — a salary significantly below the national average. 

NTT faculty also experience job insecurity, opaque-to-nonexistent promotion and renewal guidelines and a lack of respect within our departments and from the university administration. We are always at risk of losing our positions — particularly those of us who vocalize our opinions or speak out on behalf of ourselves and our colleagues.  

A particularly upsetting example of administrative overreach and retaliation happened last spring when Patrick Butler — then in his final year as a visiting assistant professor in the English department making $45,000 per year — was offered a promotion to a long-term position as professor of practice.  

However, Butler was also a visible union organizer and vocal champion of NTT faculty. When his offer letter reached the desk of Brian Edwards, dean of the School of Liberal Arts, Edwards made the unilateral decision to revoke the offer and cancel the job search entirely — a decision which, due to the expiration of Butler’s VAP contract, amounted to a firing. Edwards’s reasons for this de facto firing were flimsy and challenged by both the hiring committee and the English department.  

The real reason was obvious: Butler was a union organizer, and this was retaliation. Shortly after celebrating his promotion, Butler found himself without a job and without an income. Because academic hiring occurs in yearly cycles — with positions being announced in the fall, interviews occurring in the winter and offers made in the spring — Butler was likely looking at an extended period of unemployment.  

Edwards’s decision also meant that the English department would be understaffed for the coming year. For this reason, the dean’s office approved an adjunct position, which was quickly extended to Butler. In the fall, Butler would again teach three courses — doing the same job as before. His new salary? $22,000. Yes, that is $22,000 per year. Tulane Workers United filed a federal unfair labor practice charge against Tulane. 

Butler’s experience, while certainly alarming in its retaliatory nature, is illustrative of the disrespect and precarity that Tulane faculty experienced for years. Raise your voice and your appointment may not be renewed — or you will just have your salary cut in half. Until now, we have had little capacity to do anything about it. And if you ever wondered why your favorite professors always seem to be leaving for other universities, this is why. 

However, our union gives us the capacity to address these issues and to invest in the long-term good of Tulane. With our collective voice, we can speak and be heard — with the protections of a union contract backed by our own collective power, we can speak without fear of retaliation. Our unionization also means a level of transparency never seen at Tulane — which is critical if we wish to make real change.  

For example, our union gives us the right to look at Tulane’s budget and to work with the administration to solve these problems. It gives us the capacity to bargain for transparent processes around hiring, renewal and promotion. 

It gives us the opportunity to participate in making those decisions that most impact our lives and livelihoods. It also puts us in a better position to help staff, adjuncts and others at Tulane who wish to form their own bargaining units and build worker power across all positions. 

But we are not there yet. Our unionization is a massive victory, but it will not mean much until we sign our first contract with the university. That is what this year is all about. While the Tulane administration sought to delay this process at every step of the way, we urge them to do what is right this year: to bargain with us in a timely, fair and transparent manner. We believe that, if we work together on these issues, the result will be a better Tulane for all. 

In the meantime, however, we call upon Tulane to show that they are acting in good faith by reinstating Butler to his offered position and holding Edwards accountable for his retaliatory actions. Retaliation and vindictiveness are no place to begin a process of good faith negotiation. We want to work with the Tulane administration to bargain for a contract that works for all. We hope that Tulane is committed to this same process. 

In solidarity with all our colleagues in all positions across this university, 

Tulane Workers United Organizing Committee