Tulane Workers United, Tulane University’s non-tenure track faculty union, voted unanimously to ratify a collective bargaining agreement with the university on Wednesday evening. It is the first of its kind in Louisiana history.
A collective bargaining agreement is a legally binding contract between an employer and a union, representing employees.
According to Casey Beck, professor of practice and director of the digital media practices program, the agreement guarantees 20% wage increases for the lowest-earning 20% of the union’s membership.
“I know those folks are thrilled to be getting that raise and to actually feel like valued members of the Tulane faculty,” Beck said.
After nearly two years of negotiations with Tulane, the agreement is set to go into effect on July 1.
“It’s an unbelievable sort of feeling to realize that change is possible,” English instructor David Kumler said.
“We appreciate the time and commitment of many faculty and administrators who showed up in good faith for the negotiations and look forward to the continued contributions of our teaching faculty in preparing Tulane students for future success,” Tulane spokesperson Michael Strecker said in a statement.
According to Beck, the 25-article agreement outlines a structure for wage increases and guaranteed bonuses.
“Faculty are going to be paid more equitable salaries [which] means that they’re going to be able to give more of their energy to their teaching,” Kumler said.
“The morale is high for the members of the bargaining unit, and we are excited that Tulane University as an employer now recognizes our contributions, our skills and what we bring to the table,” Brian McNamara, a professor of practice in the School of Professional Advancement, said.
Matthew Toups, a professor of practice in computer science, said that as a result of the agreement, many instructors will be promoted to lecturers.
“Our better paid, more stable faculty will translate to a better experience for students who take classes here,” Toups said.
Kumler said the agreement also establishes clear faculty appointment letters and creates a grievance and arbitration clause, a provision that establishes a formal process for resolving workplace disputes.
“We’ve established rules in the contract itself that Tulane has to follow, which [is] a huge step towards transparency for us to know what the rules are [and] to know that Tulane can’t arbitrarily change them,” Kumler said.
“We want to make Tulane better. We want to make Tulane a place [where] we want to stay,” Beck said.
Toups said this is just the beginning of Tulane Workers United’s accomplishments on campus.
“We’re not going away. We’re going to continue to build the faculty union and accomplish more things in future years,” Toups said.
“We really feel like we’re trailblazing a new path for faculty, and one that we think other faculty around the state will actually ultimately want to join,” Beck said.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include a statement from Tulane University.