The Undergraduate Student Government Senate may consider voting on a resolution to support adjunct unionization.
The Senate originally discussed the resolution Dec. 4, then decided to indefinitely delay voting on it Jan. 22.
The resolution stated that the Senate would support the unionization, in recognition of the adjunct faculty’s positive influence on academics and “the function that such unionization would play within the principles of social responsibility and equality.”
The Senate will bring the bill back to the floor as negotiations with the union progresses, according to Rory Slatko, an undergraduate senator for the School of International Service and the sponsor of the bill. The Senate originally wanted to wait for detailed results of the adjunct vote before they passed legislation.
“I believe [tabling the resolution] was an appropriate move for this body,” he said. “It would be wrong to support something that the adjuncts themselves didn’t even support” if they didn’t vote for it.
Some senators believe the resolution didn’t belong on the floor in the first place.
“If it doesn’t directly affect the students, then there’s no reason for the Student Government to get involved,” said then Class of 2014 Sen. Rob Battaglia, who resigned from the Senate over winter break.
Battaglia said Slatko might have had a better chance of passing the resolution if he came to the floor with polling data showing that the majority of the SIS constituency supported the unionization.
“My constituency were the people that brought this issue to my attention,” Slatko responded. “Students came to talk to me about it, so, in doing my job, I decided this would be something the Senate should look at.”
Slatko worked with Student Worker Alliance to craft the legislation and garner support.
Following heavy debate on the floor Jan. 22, the resolution was “tabled indefinitely pending forthcoming information,” meaning that the body would look at the resolution after the adjuncts had voted.
Although the adjuncts voted for unionization, Battaglia still believes the Senate shouldn’t pass the resolution supporting unionization.
“I don’t believe that they did the right thing in terms of tabling it, because I think the Senate didn’t do the right thing by the fact that there was even a bill introduced,” he said.
