Faculty Unionization
IMPORTANT ELECTION UPDATE
The University reached an agreement to permit a mail-in ballot election so that all eligible RTPC faculty have the opportunity to vote.
The NLRB will mail your ballot to the home address we have on file on Friday, April 24, 2026.
To ensure that you receive it:
- Check Workday to confirm your Mailing Address is up-to-date
- If necessary, update your Mailing Address in Workday (after logging in, open the Menu and select Personal Information, then under View, select Addresses) by Monday, April 13
- Stay tuned for additional information on Mail-in Voting
For your vote to count, ballots must be received by the NLRB by Friday, May 15, 2026. Employees should contact the NLRB to request a ballot if one is not received by Wednesday, May 6, 2026. Ballots will be counted at the regional NLRB office on Monday, May 18, 2026.
Your vote counts
UAW is trying to represent ~2,900 RTPC faculty across almost all schools in the petitioned-for bargaining unit.
There is no quorum needed – the election is decided by a simple majority of voters, be they full-time, part-time, or adjunct faculty.
If UAW is voted in, it will represent the entire bargaining unit, including you – regardless of whether you voted or not.
Please do your research and vote. A single vote can make a difference that has lasting effects on you and ~2,900 colleagues.
This website contains the latest updates regarding recent RTPC full- and part-time faculty unionization efforts and resources to support faculty who wish to learn more about their existing rights at USC.
RTPC faculty of all ranks, disciplines, and experience are vital to the success of USC’s mission and essential to the collective pursuit of knowledge and improvement of practice that drives the academy forward. It is with you and your continued partnership that the university can provide our students “… a broad array of academic [and] professional… programs of the first rank” (USC Mission Statement).
About the Election
On Dec. 10, 2024, UAW filed a petition seeking to represent all full-time, part-time and/or adjunct RTPC faculty employed by USC. This filing initiated the formal union election process for RTPC faculty.
On March 20, 2026, the NLRB issued an Election Order authorizing a faculty unionization election at USC.
On April 8, 2026, the University reached an agreement to permit a mail-in ballot election so that all eligible RTPC faculty have the opportunity to vote, and the Election Order was updated.
This secret ballot election will be to determine whether the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (also known as United Auto Workers or UAW) may exclusively represent all full-time, part-time, and adjunct RTPC faculty employed by USC in Los Angeles County in one bargaining unit. This excludes (a) part-time and adjunct faculty in the School of Cinematic Arts; (b) all faculty in the Keck School of Medicine; and (c) faculty employed by the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. This also excludes all tenured and tenure-track, visiting or emeriti faculty from all schools.
On April 24, 2026, ballots will be mailed to eligible voters based on their home address listed in Workday and for all ballots to count, must be received by the NLRB by May 15, 2026. Employees should contact the NLRB to request a ballot if one is not received by May 6, 2026.
On May 18, 2026, ballots will be counted at the regional NLRB office.
We firmly believe that unionization is not in the best interests of our faculty, our students, or the university as a whole. So, we encourage faculty to learn all they can to determine for themselves whether they want a union to be their exclusive collective bargaining representative.
What Collective Bargaining Could Change
- A union contract would apply uniformly to every person in a bargaining unit.
- The university may be limited in its ability to negotiate individually or be flexible with faculty in the bargaining unit depending on the terms of the contract.
- Once a union election process begins and during collective bargaining, there are legal restrictions on the university’s ability to make changes to wages, benefits, or working conditions.
- There is no opting-out. Once voted in, the union contract would bind all faculty in the bargaining unit, regardless of whether they voted or how they voted.
Understanding the Current Landscape
For more than two decades, USC, in partnership with the Academic Senate and faculty committees, has developed a shared governance model that is both rare and reflective of our values.
- More than 15% of RTPC faculty serve in administrative roles across the institution and/or receive stipend pay or course relief for these duties.
- Every RTPC faculty member is eligible to serve on committees, as committee chairs, and in Academic Senate leadership.
- Four of the last six Academic Senate presidents have been RTPC faculty.
- Many RTPC faculty serve on their school’s executive faculty council.
Workplace protections are already in place for RTPC faculty that unions typically pursue on behalf of their members.
- RTPC instructional faculty contracts include multi-year appointments, clear workload expectations, and compensation for additional duties and summer courses.
- Full-time and part-time RTPC are all subject to impartial merit-review processes.
- Every full-time RTPC appointment and non-reappointment goes through a multi-level peer review process.
- These policies were created years before unionization was discussed because we believe in faculty shared governance and fair, equitable treatment.
RTPC faculty working 50% FTE or greater have access to the same health and retirement benefits as every other USC faculty and staff, including tenure-stream faculty and staff.
- This has been the standard here for some time.
We do these things because they are right and because we appreciate our faculty and all they do for the university and our students.
- The investments USC has made in faculty governance, compensation, and working conditions reflect our values.
- We will continue to make investments in these areas.
RTPC & Faculty Shared Governance Resources
Links to relevant resources on faculty governance at USC as well as existing policies on RTPC faculty rights and responsibilities.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions received from faculty on the topic of RTPC faculty unionization efforts and impacts.