On June 3, non-tenure-track faculty members at the University of Southern California (USC) won their National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election to unionize with the United Auto Workers (UAW).
“We won our union!” the organizing committee announced on its website following the vote. According to the union, a supermajority of eligible faculty participated in the election, with 70% voting in favor of union representation. Of the 1,821 eligible employees who cast ballots, 1,272 voted for unionization while 549 voted against it.
The newly certified bargaining unit will represent more than 2,700 full-time, part-time, and adjunct faculty members across hundreds of disciplines in 22 schools and the USC libraries. The unit includes non-tenure-track faculty throughout the university, with the exception of the Keck School of Medicine.
The workers—known as Research, Teaching, Practitioner, and Clinical-Track (RTPC) faculty—come from diverse professional and academic backgrounds. Despite their varied roles, organizers said they are united by a shared commitment to USC’s educational mission and a belief that collective bargaining is necessary to protect their working conditions.
According to the union, faculty members have faced unilateral changes by the university administration in recent years, including increased healthcare costs, reductions in tuition assistance benefits, higher workloads, and compensation that has not kept pace with the rising cost of living.
“Our margin of victory was incredible, which underscores the tremendous support for our union and the urgent need to improve our working conditions,” said Kate Levin, a USC associate professor of writing and union organizer.
Part of a Growing Trend in Higher Education
USC’s unionization effort reflects a broader trend across higher education. In recent years, graduate workers, adjunct faculty, and non-tenure-track instructors have organized at institutions including New York University, Columbia University, and Harvard University. Many of those bargaining units are represented by the UAW, whose higher education members now account for roughly one-quarter of the union’s total membership.
USC already has three UAW-affiliated bargaining units representing part-time and adjunct instructors in the School of Cinematic Arts, graduate student workers, and postdoctoral scholars.
For many RTPC faculty members, unionization is viewed as a pathway toward greater job security, transparency, and protection of benefits.
Debra De Liso, a part-time lecturer in the School of Dramatic Arts, highlighted employment stability as a top priority.
“Number one to me is job security, knowing that we’re going to be hired back the next year so we can plan our lives,” she said. “Number two is transparency, with salaries and raises and promises actually being met.”
Others emphasized the need to safeguard existing workplace benefits. Janis Yue, an assistant professor in the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, noted the importance of preserving healthcare protections.
“I would really like to be able to lock things in place that I do like about my working conditions at USC,” Yue said. “An example of that is in terms of my healthcare.”
University Opposition to the Organizing Drive
The election victory followed a lengthy and contentious organizing process.
In December 2024, a majority of RTPC faculty members filed a petition with the NLRB seeking union representation. On the same day, USC issued a statement challenging the constitutionality of the NLRB’s structure, echoing arguments that have been advanced by several prominent anti-union employers, including Amazon, Trader Joe’s, and SpaceX.
The university’s objections led to a three-week hearing before NLRB Regional Director Danielle Pierce. During the proceedings, USC challenged the proposed bargaining unit and election on several grounds. In her decision in Case 31-RC-356388, Pierce rejected the university’s arguments and authorized the election to proceed.
Even after the vote, the administration signaled that it might continue its opposition. Before the ballot count was finalized, USC informed faculty members that it had asked the NLRB to “quickly review the validity” of the election.
Levin sharply criticized the university’s position.
“We are also extremely disappointed in USC’s latest delay tactic,” she said. “From the beginning, the USC administration emphasized the importance of this election—they said, ‘your vote matters. Make your voice heard.’ And we did. The fact that they would now refuse to honor the outcome of a democratic election because they don’t like the results is outrageous.”
Campus Support
The organizing campaign received support from several campus organizations. Among them was the Senate of the Undergraduate Student Government at USC, which passed a resolution backing the RTPC faculty’s right to organize.
With a decisive election victory and broad participation among eligible voters, USC’s non-tenure-track faculty have joined a growing movement of higher education workers seeking a greater voice in determining their wages, benefits, job security, and working conditions through collective bargaining.
Now for the adjunct faculty?
Solidarity!