MICA Staff
FAQs
What is a union?
A union is an organized group of coworkers who use their collective strength to have a voice in their workplace. As a union, workers have the right to collectively bargain for better wages, work hours, workload, benefits, job training and other work-related issues.
Are there unions currently at MICA?
Yes! The adjunct faculty are already members of SEIU Local 500. They enjoy ongoing benefits of union contracts and positive problem-solving relationships with the administration. Through collective bargaining, MICA adjunct faculty have increased their rates of pay, secured professional development funds, improved their job security, and more.
The MICA FT faculty is organizing to become a bargaining unit within SEIU Local 500.
You can find out more about the MICA Adjunct Faculty and MICA Full Time Faculty bargaining units, as well as the other institutions of higher education in our area that are unionized with SEIU Local 500, at www.seiu500.org.
Now we are joining the adjunct faculty and FT faculty by organizing a bargaining unit to join in union with SEIU Local 500.
Why are we forming a union?
MICA staff are coming together to have protected bargaining rights and a say in our working conditions and the priorities of MICA as an institution. We make significant contributions to the college through our supportive roles and administrative work. We want an opportunity to be fairly recognized for these contributions.
Through collective bargaining, we have the opportunity to work towards transparent, reliable employment practices, clear expectations, fair workloads, fair wages and benefits that will allow us to do our work effectively and thus help enable high-quality learning experiences on our campus
By organizing with the union we can negotiate better working conditions, higher wages, better access to services and support, increased benefits, and a platform from which to address our concerns. Any issue having to do with our terms and conditions of employment can be negotiated.
What is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining is the process through which employees, working together as a union, bargain with our employer to determine the terms of our employment, resulting in a legal contract called a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), or union contract.
After the NLRB certifies the union election, MICA staff will have the right to bargain for our first union contract. The MICA administration has the legal duty to bargain with us in good faith, in an honest and open effort to discuss our employment conditions. Both parties will work together to come to an agreement on areas of mutual interest and concern including: Compensation and benefits; Job health and safety conditions; Performance review systems that fairly assess employees; training and mentoring for skills improvement and career advancement; etc.
Who will be on the MICA Staff bargaining committee?
That’s up to us! We get to decide which of our colleagues represent us when it comes to bargaining our contact with the administration. The Bargaining Committee, with the help of SEIU Local 500 negotiators, will represent staff in bargaining with MICA, ensuring that all our voices and interests are represented and protected throughout the process. Once the Bargaining Committee believes they have reached the best contract possible, they will bring it back to the members for all of us to vote to approve.
How do you form a bargaining unit?
The process of forming a bargaining unit is a democratic one in which the election is administered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The first concrete step is for supportive staff members to sign a confidential union authorization card at https://act.seiu.org/a/mica-staff. Those union authorization cards act as a petition with the NLRB showing there is interest among MICA staff in having a union. The names on the petition are confidential. The NLRB then carries out a secret ballot election for MICA staff to vote to form a union.
Who is the staff union for?
The MICA Staff Union/SEIU Local 500 is for all MICA staff. Whether you advise students, schedule events, coordinate programs, or ensure our facilities remain in top shape, we are seeking to build power for all staff and create working conditions that allow all members of our community to thrive.
Supervisors, generally understood as those who direct policy and/or supervise staff, are excluded from the staff bargaining unit per NLRB rules.
The National Labor Relations Act also prohibits security guards and safety officers from being represented by the same union as other employees.
Does the MICA Administration want us to have a union?
Forming a union is up for staff to decide. This is our choice, not the administration’s.
Without a union, the administration has the sole power to make decisions regarding all aspects of our working conditions. This was most recently made evident when our retirement matching and cost of living adjustments were suspended, furloughs and layoffs announced, and certain staff were required to remain on campus amidst a pandemic, all without our input.
We suspect that, like most employers, the MICA administration prefers to maintain their ability to make unilateral decisions without our input. As such, we expect the MICA administration, like most employers, to dissuade MICA staff from exercising our right to unionize with continued communication that frames unionizing as a risky process for staff.
While it is disappointing to see the MICA administration play a role in a process that is exclusively meant to be ours, it is not unexpected. While the MICA administration made similar attempts to dissuade adjunct faculty, our colleagues were able to decisively win their union elections and move forward with a collaborative bargaining relationship with MICA leadership.
Can MICA discipline me for participating in union organizing?
It is against the law for an employer to take any action against an employee for organizing or attempting to organize at their workplace. It is our legal right to unionize and we are intent in making sure MICA respects our protected right to organize. If you experience or suspect any disciplinary action as a result of participating in union organizing, contact SEIU Local 500 immediately at 301-740-7100.
How will the MICA Administration respond to our organizing?
While we hope the MICA administration will remain neutral and will respect our legal right to organize, we also know that it is common for administrations to interfere when workers organize by spreading misinformation about the union. Administrations will often make claims about how organizing is futile. They often exaggerate dues costs, and attempt to portray our union as an external third party trying to interfere with our relationships on campus.
Will I have to pay dues?
SEIU Local 500 is a member-run and member-funded organization. Member dues pay for bargaining contracts, enforcing contracts, organizing new members, and the day to day running of the organization. Staff at MICA are able to organize our bargaining unit now because of the resources provided by thousands of Local 500 members who are working and paying their union dues. We look forward to being able to participate as dues-paying union members when our first contract is ratified.
All members of SEIU Local 500 pay dues to build and maintain a strong union and a powerful labor movement. We will not pay any dues until after we ratify our first contract. Based on the dues paid by other members of the union, we anticipate that our dues will be around $20 per pay period.
How can I support the union?
For MICA staff: If you haven’t already done so, sign a union authorization card. This is a commitment to your colleagues to support your union, and also serves as a petition to the NLRB to show we are interested in forming a union.
The next step is to join staff from across campus in showing your support for the MICA Staff Bargaining Unit! Add your name alongside staff from across campus by signing onto our public letter. Next, talk to your colleagues about why you support the union. Encourage your colleagues to join you in improving the work conditions of MICA staff.
For more information, please contact the MICA Staff Union Organizing Committee at neworganizing@seiu500.org.