Be Informed about SCA Adjunct Unionization at USC

What USC Says

What USC Leaves Out

What union is seeking to represent USC School of Cinematic Arts' adjunct faculty?

The Adjunct Faculty Alliance-United Auto Workers is seeking to represent School of Cinematic Arts' adjunct faculty.

AFA-UAW stands for Adjunct Faculty Alliance - United Auto Workers. Adjuncts reached out to UAW last summer to help us successfully form a union.

UAW is one of the most diverse unions in the United States, and in particular is the union of over 100,000 academic employees including Graduate Student Workers at USC, Adjunct Faculty at NYU, Adjunct Faculty at the New School, Continuing Faculty at Barnard,University of California Academic Student Employees, Student Researchers, Postdocs, and Academic Researchers, and many more. In just this past year, Graduate Student Workers here at USC voted 93% in favor of unionizing with UAW, Mt. Sinai Postdoctoral Researchers voted 89.5% in favor of unionizing with UAW, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute Grad Employees voted 96% in favor of unionizing with UAW.

What happens if the AFA-UAW wins the election?

If a majority of voters vote “yes” – even if only a fraction of eligible voters actually vote – all USC adjunct faculty in the bargaining unit would be represented by the AFA-UAW as to their terms and conditions of “employment” by a local of the AFA-UAW. The university and the AFA-UAW would begin collective bargaining with the goal of seeking agreement by both sides on a contract.

It is critically important that there is high voter turnout. A strong “yes” vote will demonstrate to USC that adjuncts support being able to collectively bargain for improvements like better compensation, improved benefits, and job security. 

Unions have been a part of our industry for a long time. Wouldn’t it be a good thing for adjunct faculty to unionize?

SCA is different from the big film studios or television networks. As a small, tight-knit community of dedicated industry professionals committed to educating the next generation of writers, producers, and cinematic arts professionals, we have a history of identifying solutions together without the need for a union.

Many adjuncts at SCA are proud members of unions in the entertainment industry like WGA, SAG, DGA, and IATSE. Many spent the last year walking picket lines to protect their profession from corporate greed. Adjuncts at SCA know that a union is the only way to have a real say in their working conditions, be it on a soundstage, writers room, or, in the case of USC, the classroom.

Please see here a letters of support from WGA.

Academic employees in the UAW have a strong track record of winning higher wages, better benefits, and workplace protections (for example, at NYU and the New School). How long negotiations take, and what gains we are able to achieve, will largely depend on our collective power and participation. Adjuncts at other Universities have succeeded, and there is no reason to believe that we cannot succeed at USC as well.

What happens if the union wins the election, but adjunct faculty later decide they no longer want to be collectively represented by the AFA-UAW?

The process of ending representation by a union, called “decertification” is a complicated and difficult process. A union cannot be decertified for at least a year after it has been certified by the NLRB or while a contract is in effect, except during a 30-day window beginning 90 days before the end of the contract.

There is no shortage of right-wing organizations across the US that work to decertify labor unions. Nonetheless, workers choosing to decertify is rare and unions have high levels of support. No group of academic employees who joined UAW has ever decertified. The overwhelming consensus is that by unionizing, academic employees have more rights and more power to democratically seek improved working conditions.

How will I know if the AFA-UAW is the right union to represent me?

We encourage everyone considering union representation to do their own research into the structure, leadership, and platform of the organization seeking to represent them to ensure it aligns with their personal values.

AFA-UAW is by, of, and for adjuncts at SCA. We chose to partner with UAW because of their track record of success. Over 100,000 thousand academic employees are already part of UAW, with thousands more having joined just in the past year. Together, UAW members in higher education are driving up standards across the entire industry.

Fundamentally, UAW is a member-driven organization whose mission is to increase worker power. Decisions are made democratically through direct elections, referendums, and conferences - and as AFA-UAW, SCA adjuncts will directly elect the leaders of our own union. In contrast, we have zero say in who is in USC administration, or who is on the USC board of trustees.

Can SCA adjunct faculty opt out of the union by not voting in the election?

No – if you are included in the bargaining unit and the union is voted in, the union would become your exclusive bargaining representative whether or not you voted and regardless of how you voted. The union would also be the exclusive bargaining representative for future SCA adjunct faculty, even though they did not have a chance to vote.

By voting to form a union, we gain the right to collectively bargain with USC. This is a highly democratic process that includes electing a bargaining team (made up of SCA adjuncts), collecting feedback through surveys, town halls, and more, drafting and voting on initial bargaining demands, exchanging proposals with USC at the bargaining table, and eventually voting on whether or not to ratify any proposed agreement before it goes into effect.

“Exclusive representation” means that all SCA adjuncts benefit from and are protected by the contract should we vote to ratify it. Currently, we are all covered by policies created unilaterally by USC administration. Forming a union means that USC is required to negotiate with our elected representatives and cannot instead make a “side deal” or ignore our union.

Union contracts are renegotiated, usually every 1 - 5 years. This means that future adjuncts will also be able to bargain for further improvements through the process outlined above.

Who would actually negotiate a contract on behalf of the members?

Union representatives (typically, paid union employees) work with a small subset of bargaining unit members, who are selected by the union, to sit at the bargaining table and negotiate on behalf of all members of the bargaining unit.

We elect our bargaining team, made up of adjuncts, and they are empowered to make decisions and proposals at the bargaining table. All adjuncts at SCA will have the opportunity to participate in bargaining - including by providing feedback on proposals and strategy. Experienced negotiators, who have helped other academic employees win union contracts, will also help us at the bargaining table. Before a contract goes into effect, adjuncts will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not to ratify it.

How can I be certain my concerns and everything I was promised would be in the agreement?

No one knows ahead of time what would be in a collective bargaining agreement. You could end up with less, more or the same as you have now. If someone is promising you certain things will be in the labor contract, you could ask for those promises in writing.

Once again, academic employees in the UAW have a strong track record of winning substantial gains. While it’s true that no one can guarantee what will happen in contract negotiations, it is surely better than the status quo in which USC has full, unilateral control determining our working conditions.

What happens if the AFA-UAW and the university are unable to reach agreement?

Any contract requires the agreement of both sides. Sometimes, after good faith bargaining, no agreement can be reached. If that occurs, the university may make its “last, best and final offer.” The union may then ask its members to vote on the proposal. If members reject the offer, there is no agreement, and the parties are at an “impasse.” When there is a good faith impasse, the university may unilaterally implement its last, best and final offer. The parties may continue to bargain in an effort to reach agreement.

Without a union, USC has unilateral control over our working conditions, but with a union, we can have a democratic say in our workplace by negotiating a contract. Both parties are required to bargain in good faith. The more adjuncts who participate in our union, the more power we will have to reach an agreement. The University could choose to quickly reach an agreement with adjunct faculty. GSWOC-UAW, the USC graduate student worker union, reached an agreement with USC and ratified their contract in 8 months. At NYU, adjunct faculty negotiated and ratified their contract in 7 months. Should USC refuse to bargain in good faith, adjuncts at SCA can take action together to pressure USC to do the right thing. For example, adjuncts can vote to authorize a strike.

What is collective bargaining?

“Collective bargaining” is a process by which a union and an employer negotiate the terms and conditions of employment, such as pay and benefits, for all members in the bargaining unit. The union has the exclusive authority to bargain on behalf of all bargaining unit members, collectively, for pay, terms of appointment, benefits and other “working conditions.” Typically, there are a series of meetings where representatives of the two sides exchange written proposals for a contract. Once this process begins, the university would be prohibited from directly negotiating terms and conditions with individuals who are in the unit.

Currently, USC has complete, unilateral control over all of our working conditions and we have no power to bargain. With a union, we engage in a democratic process to bargain an enforceable union contract with USC as equals.

During this process, USC cannot change working conditions without the agreement of adjuncts at SCA. This means that USC cannot cut our benefits or wages unless we agree.

Union dues in UAW are determined democratically. They are currently 1.44% of gross pay and only go into effect after we negotiate and vote to ratify a union contract. In all other cases, the value of wage and benefit increases far exceeds the cost of union dues for all adjuncts. Dues are how workers, like us, pool resources to be able to successfully negotiate with multi-billion dollar employers, like USC.

It will also be up to us, as adjuncts, to decide what kind of union security arrangement we want to negotiate for. Many unions, like the USC graduate student worker union, have a provision in their contract that generally requires all employees to pay dues or a comparable fee. Any such union security arrangement would be part of the contract that adjuncts would vote on ratifying.