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Michigan State University tenure and tenure-track faculty members are on track toward forming a union, according to reporting from the Lansing State Journal.
The group, which campaigned last fall to form a union, is seeking recognition from the university’s board of trustees.
At least 54% of Michigan State tenure-system faculty members have signed cards indicating support of a union, said NiCole Buchanan, a spokesperson for the Union for Tenure-System Faculty.
Buchanan said conversations on unionizing began in 2019, with tenured faculty feeling left out of university decisions. “(There was) a lack of faculty voice, a lack of transparency,” Buchanan said. “We felt the university was not willing to have the faculty at the table.”
Organizers expect to hear back soon from the board of trustees regarding their December letter requesting a meeting to recognize their union status and decide upon a third party to verify the number of faculty in support.