Response to Open Letter from Non-Tenure Track Faculty
Dear Members of the Skidmore Community,
In an open letter to the Skidmore College faculty, a number of our non-tenure track faculty colleagues raised some timely and important questions about their role at the College. I thank them for doing so.
Our non-tenure track faculty colleagues are valued contributors to our community as teachers, scholars, advisers, facilitators, and coordinators. The role they play in the lives of our students is critical: They help them succeed. They also play instrumental roles in the life and mission of the College. We will address in a constructive and meaningful way the concerns they have raised, many of which we share. Indeed, since last fall, the Faculty Compensation Study Working Group, made up of tenured and non-tenure track Skidmore faculty and administrators, has been engaged in productive conversations about our compensation system, with the goal of adopting a transparent and equitable salary structure for our faculty. This work is nearly complete, and the results will be presented as part of our State of the College Finances meeting on May 24.
The open letter expresses support for unionization and asks the College to immediately recognize the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) as their legal bargaining representative. Skidmore is an institution that values dialogue, the interchange of ideas and opinions, and respect for the dignity and worth of each individual. These values guide our every decision at Skidmore, and this is no exception. To that end, we believe that our community should engage in a thoughtful and informed discussion about possible unionization. It is not the College’s place to preemptively substitute its judgment for that of individual employees. Federal law protects the right of employees to vote on what kind of workplace they want in a secret ballot election overseen by neutral officials from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Skidmore respects these rights and, if a majority ultimately vote to join SEIU, the College will engage in good faith bargaining, as we do with our other unions.
Though this semester is coming to a close, it is clear we have some important work ahead of us. As we move forward, we will be guided by the fundamental value of respect – respect for each of our colleagues as individual contributors and for all of our employees as a community; respect for the personal choices of each employee; respect for the dignity of work and for disparate perspectives; respect for our students and their concerns, needs and expectations; and respect at all times for both broad-ranging and open communication and the legal process.
Sincerely,
Marc Conner
President