Update on Union Negotiations and Strike Notice

Dear Campus Community,

On May 1, 2025, we received notice of a strike of the non-tenure track (NTT) faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences beginning at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7th and concluding on Thursday, May 8th at 9:01 p.m.

The timing of the NTT strike, at the end of the semester and on the eve of final exams for many students, is disappointing and unfortunate.

The campus will remain open. Students have the right to unimpeded access to attend classes during a strike, and faculty have the right to continue to teach. If you have any problems, please call the Department of Public Safety for assistance.

USD respects employees’ rights to free speech and assembly. The university also has a responsibility to ensure students are able to complete coursework and maintain their academic standing, especially those who are graduating soon or have scholarships or other visa requirements. In the event of a strike, our top priority will be to ensure our students are supported.

As we shared with faculty on April 24, the University has been engaged in negotiations with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) local 721, which represents the College NTTs, to reach a first collective bargaining agreement (CBA). We have conducted numerous bargaining sessions, have made progress and reached “Tentative Agreements” on several issues, and these sessions are ongoing.

The recent message to faculty included a list of demands provided by the SEIU’s representatives. This included an immediate double-digit salary increase for all NTTs in the College, as well as other compensation increases. (please see Appendix A of the April 24 email for details )

The combined cost of these demands would equate to a substantial undergraduate tuition increase.

Another point of discussion is around class schedules and cancellations for NTT faculty members. The University has proposed a process by which NTTs are notified of class schedules months before the semester begins (and months before the final schedule is known). The University’s proposal includes a fee for any NTT whose final class schedule does not include a class identified in the draft/initial schedule but later was cancelled. This establishes a binding process and time frame for scheduling NTT class assignments. The claim that the University has “refused to bargain” about “effects” of class cancellations is simply untrue.

As with any academic semester, the schedule is a work in progress until we have more certainty about the incoming cohort, including the number of undergraduate students who will be enrolled for the start of the Fall 2025 semester.

The University is committed to the collective bargaining process and is hopeful that an agreement will be reached with our colleagues represented by the SEIU. The University is proceeding in good faith and as quickly as possible. (For reference, the average time to contract in union negotiations is approximately 430 days, due to the number of issues discussed and their complexity. We are only halfway through that time frame.) The sooner we reach agreement, the better for all involved.

As stewards of the University’s resources, our goal, and our responsibility, is to foster agreements that are fair and equitable for all. We are attempting to reach common ground with our union-represented NTT colleagues and will continue to do so, keeping the best interest of all our community members at the forefront.

Karen Hagenmiller, Chief Human Resources Officer
Frances Kuhn, CAS Budget Officer
Kristin Moran, CAS Associate Dean
Thomas Skinner, Chief Legal Officer and Advisor to the President and Board
Jillian Tullis, CAS Associate Dean