The unionization vote that was scheduled to be taken among RPI’s service workers last week was cancelled after the SEIU Local 200United—the union with which RPI employees would be associated—filed charges against the Institute for unfair labor practices regarding the election.
The charges, filed last Tuesday, cite “gross misconduct on the part of RPI supervisory personnel during the last weeks leading up to the election,” according to a press release issued by the SEIU.
“Folks should be voting on whether they want a union, not worrying whether management will find out how they voted, when they voted,” said Richard Drucker, the Local 200 organizer who has been working with RPI employees.
The Institute responded Thursday with a statement distributed via the Campus.News mailing lists, stating “It is Rensselaer’s belief that the union filed baseless charges merely to stop the election.”
Megan Galbraith, assistant director of media relations, said the Institute believes the SEIU is trying to rally more support for the union. “Rensselaer would like to go forward with the vote as scheduled and it was really unfair [to the workers] to stop the vote from going forward.”
Drucker maintains that the charges were filed to ensure fair practices.
“We filed the charges to stop the election because we wanted a free and fair election,” he said
The National Labor Relations Board cancelled the election pending an investigation into the charges.
According to Jon Mackle, head of the NLRB’s Albany office, the SEIU will be given the opportunity to prove their case, and then RPI will have the opportunity to respond. The Board will talk to witnesses, collect affidavits, and consider any documentation that exists. If there is insufficient evidence to support the Union’s allegations, the charges will be dropped.
If sufficient evidence is found, the NLRB will attempt to settle the case informally, probably requiring RPI to make notice for 60 days that it will not continue the offending conduct. RPI can choose not to settle and take the case to court.
Feelings about the current atmosphere are mixed among RPI’s service employees. Some, like Yvette Smalls, who works in the JEC, are confident about voting the way they want.
“If you’re not 100 percent, what’s the sense of taking a vote?” Smalls asked.
Others aren’t as confident. Shiela Lozo, an active union advocate who works in the VCC, said she was contacted by co-workers who were concerned about losing benefits or their jobs if they voted for the union.
“People don’t know what to believe,” Lozo said. “I would like to see some kind of action done where they cannot go around and do this to people.”
