October 26 Message from Mercy College: Update on the College's Negotiations with the Adjunct Union Faculty

Dear Adjunct Faculty and Lecturers,

We have seen the latest communication from the Union regarding bargaining, and we are disappointed by mischaracterizations and divisive rhetoric on the part of the Union.

Just as the Union has presented package proposals to the College on various subjects, so has the College presented the Union with package counter proposals moving in the direction of compromise. Although no tentative agreements have been reached at the last two sessions, the parties are closer together than they were previously on these topics. At the end of our last session, the Union warned that they might retrench to prior positions that widen rather than narrow the gap between the parties. For its part, the College made clear that it will not pursue any such retrenchment.

The most egregious statement in the Union’s recent communication is that Mercy College is “trying to union-bust”. This is false. The College has a longstanding working relationship with another union that represents many of our staff, and we have every intention of developing such a relationship with this Union on behalf of our part-time faculty. In order to do so, however, the parties must develop mutually acceptable terms through a collective bargaining process that is inherently difficult and time-consuming, especially for initial labor agreements.

While we also disagree with the Union’s characterization of positions each party has taken on various topics, we feel that exchanging cross accusations and rebuttal arguments during the course of negotiations is counterproductive and will more likely prolong the process rather than hasten final resolution of all issues. We believe that divisive tactics will not help to bring the parties together.

Our next bargaining session with the SEIU is tomorrow, October 27. We will continue to work in good faith to negotiate terms of a collective bargaining agreement that treats our adjunct faculty fairly and that strikes a proper balance between interests both of the College as a whole and of our adjunct faculty

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Mercy College Management Bargaining Team

Kristen Bowes
Saul Fisher
Jessica Haber
Lauren Mackenzie
Annette Piecora