Elon University filed objections on Tuesday to the recent election to unionize certain faculty members.
The university filed the objections with the National Labor Relations Board regarding the Service Employees International Union's election practices. In an email from Provost Steven House, the university rebuked the SEIU for what it viewed as aggressive outreach to potential union members and misrepresentations of the university's governance system.
"Some faculty members reported feeling stalked and unsafe when organizers appeared repeatedly and sometimes refused to leave," House wrote in his email. "Some faculty members were upset that their Elon colleagues had shared their home addresses and personal contact information with the SEIU without their permission."
Now that objections have been filed, the matter will go before a five-member panel, according to Scott Thompson, who runs the Winston-Salem NLRB office. While there is no specific timeline for a ruling, the board's website says the hearings will be scheduled "as soon as possible."
At the Tally of the Union last Tuesday, the majority of adjunct, limited-term and visiting Elon University faculty members voted in favor of establishing a union at Elon.
Jeffrey Hirsch, expert on labor law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and former litigator for the NLRB, said he does not believe that the university's objection will be approved.
Hirsch said "valid allegations that the union or the employer threatened employees," are the type of objections that are typically heard.
"Overall, the board will look at if it was a fair and free objection," said Hirsch.