Temple University, Case No. PERA-R.14-400-E
Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board Hearing Examiner John Pozniak issued a decision on September 29, 2015 ordering an election among part-time faculty at Temple University's undergraduate schools and colleges concerning whether they wish to be included in the existing bargaining unit of full-time faculty and other professionals. The decision was issued following six days of hearing after a representation petition was filed by the Temple Association of University Professionals (TAUP) on December 17, 2014 seeking to add approximately 1,040 part-time faculty to the TAUP-represented bargaining unit. The current TAUP-represented bargaining unit includes approximately 500 full-time tenured faculty, 150 tenure-track faculty, 600 non-tenure track faculty, 25 librarians and 25 academic professionals.
In directing an election, Hearing Officer Prozniak concluded that the part-time faculty share an identifiable community of interest with faculty in the existing unit because their teaching responsibilities, courses, campuses and classrooms are virtually identical to the full-time faculty. In addition, he found they have nearly the same educational requirements as full-time faculty, they regularly interact with full-time faculty, and are subject to many of the same faculty policies.
The administrative decision rejected various arguments raised by the university in opposition to the petition. Differences between part-time and full-time faculty, such as roles in shared governance, research and service requirements, workload and eligibility for tenure, were determined to be "minor" and "reflect the division of labor at a major university." The hearing officer also rejected the university's contention that accretion would be inappropriate based on potential tensions that might arise between the full-time and the part-time faculty.