Posts tagged Ohio University
State tosses out Ohio University’s objections to faculty union election
May 13, 2025 // In an opinion attached to the SERB order, Geis wrote that a decision in OU’s favor on the issue of members-only meetings “would likely prohibit union members and employers from meeting exclusively during the period from the petition for representation through the election at all.” Under Ohio law, public employees have a right to organize unions. Geis wrote that the provisions of the Ohio Administrative Code cited by OU “must not be read to conflict with the Revised Code provision they amplify,” which guarantees that right.
Ohio University officials won’t yet commit to remaining neutral on efforts to form a faculty union
March 15, 2024 // In his reply, the university’s senior associate general counsel, Michael Courtney, wrote that the university was not given enough information and was not provided with enough time to evaluate the requests. “In order to appropriately ensure all voices of the University faculty employees are heard, it is imperative for University leadership to seek and require proof of majority support,” Courtney wrote. In the meantime, Courtney wrote, “Ohio University will pledge that it will comply with regulations” in state law that govern the unionizing process. UAOU sent out a statement to members the day after Courtney’s letter was sent, in which the organization noted that while the university did not agree to UAOU’s requests, it did agree to follow the law.
Opinion: Say No to prevailing wage
March 13, 2023 // Prevailing wage mandates artificially lift the cost of government construction projects by forcing bidders to pay the local or, “prevailing,” wage in a particular area. Typically, that means union scale wages. Michigan repealed its prevailing wage law in 2018. The Michigan House of Representatives voted this week to reinstate it. The Senate should vote it down. Research shows prevailing wage laws artificially raise the cost of government construction projects. In a forthcoming study, economist Michael Hicks, co-author of this post, estimates that the cost of road construction is raised by between 8.5% and 14.3% in quality-adjusted road miles. In Michigan in 2018 that would translate to between $5,900 and $9,200 in additional costs per mile. Who foots these extra costs? Taxpayers.
OU AFSCME employees rally to restore laid-off employees
September 27, 2022 // Employees, union leaders, student leaders, political leaders and supporters gathered at the gateway of College Green on the corner of Court St. and Union St. from 3 p.m to 5 p.m. Union leaders and members demonstrated their desire for OU to restore nearly 100 positions lost from the cuts.