St. John’s University will no longer recognize the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) or the Faculty Association as representatives of its faculty, according to an email from Rev. Brian J. Shanley sent to the university faculty, including professors, administrative assistants and other staff members on Feb. 19.

 In 2020, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that religious institutions were exempt from the NLRB jurisdiction, making way for the current issues at play. 

“The withdrawal of recognition means that there will be no further collective bargaining negotiations,” Shanley wrote in the email to staff. 

This means that the AAUP can no longer argue for contract negotiations as a whole. 

In response to this decision, a petition was created on behalf of the members of the SJU-AAUP, seeking support to urge the Board of Trustees and Shanley to reverse the decision. 

The petition states, “This union-busting move was abruptly announced on the faculty’s 234th day of working without a contract, following the administration’s prolonged stalling of contract negotiations and hiring of the notorious union-busting firm, Proskauer Rose LLP.”

The petition draws on the University’s core message of Catholic social teaching. “For nearly 135 years, official Catholic teaching has affirmed the necessity of labor unions for ensuring economic justice and for society’s common good.” 

The AAUP was founded in 1915, with the main goal of maintaining the quality of higher education and its staff members. Some of the main issues that the AAUP addresses are academic freedom, political attacks on higher education, teaching, research and faculty employment.

The second union is the Faculty Association, which was a part of a collective bargaining unit with the SJU-AAUP. Both have been legally recognized by New York State and St. John’s administration since 1970. 

The most recent requests from the SJU-AAUP and Faculty Association have included a 3.85% pay increase for full-time faculty, a reduction in health insurance premiums and a 25%-30% pay increase for part-time faculty, which aligns with the pay of part-time CUNY staff. 

“In recent years…faculty salaries at St. John’s have fallen behind those of faculty salaries paid at other universities, and the majority of full-time SJU faculty pay much more for health insurance than what is paid by faculty at other colleges and universities in the New York City metropolitan area,” Christopher Denny, President of the Faculty Association, told The Torch.

The SJU-AAUP argues the University failed to provide faculty with the proper information regarding the University’s health care premium calculations. 

“The SJU-AAUP uncovered strong evidence that administrators violated previous contracts by charging faculty for health insurance, but the administration continues this practice,” according to SJU-AAUP’s website.

“Withdrawing recognition from the faculty union was not something we did lightly, but it is necessary to be able to advance our organizational mission,” St. John’s spokesman Brian Browne said. “This will allow St. John’s the flexibility required to innovate while continuing to support our faculty and, most importantly, deliver on our promise to our students.”

In the email, Rev. Brian J. Shanley stated that the University must “make decisions that are in the best interests of St. John’s if collective bargaining burdens the university’s goals that advance the common good.” However, some faculty disagree, telling The Torch that unions are a point of strength for the university. 

Professor of history Lara Vapnek argued that faculty unions are a point of celebration rather than a point of contention. 

“It’s alarming to see the faculty’s right to unionize and to bargain collectively being characterized as impediments to the future success of the University,” Vapnek said in an interview with The Torch. “I would argue just the opposite: the unions are a source of strength for the university and an essential resource for faculty members dedicated to excellence in the classroom and in their scholarly endeavors.”

Professor Sophie Bell echoed that sentiment, telling The Torch, “Father Shanley has made a devastating choice, to use our Catholic Vincentian identity to try and make a legal case.” 

And while the situation may seem like an issue strictly between faculty and administration, students are subject to be affected as well. “Faculty control over curriculum decisions and hiring is essential to high-quality education. This decision would destabilize students’ education. Faculty working conditions are students’ learning conditions,” Bell said.  

In addition to the petition, a rally and press conference will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 12 p.m., organized by the St. John’s chapter of AAUP. Students, families and other colleagues are all invited to join in the rally.

For faculty, the main goal of the rally is to urge the administration to rethink their decision and speak directly with the Board of Trustees. 

“Our main point of the rally is to send the administration back to the bargaining table immediately, and to reaffirm their commitment to our collective bargaining agreement. We want to meet with the Board of Trustees and have a direct line of communication between the Board of Trustees and the faculty, because of our shared concern of making sure St. John’s values are enacted in the University. We all care about this institution a lot,” Bell said.