Professor speaks out against his peers' unionization push

On June 6, Miami University (MU) professors officially filed to unionize with the American Association of University Professors. But the university has yet to recognize the union, and not every professor agrees with the decision.

Currently, MU, a public research university in Oxford, Ohio, is one of four public universities in the state that does not have faculty unions.

In response to the filing, MU released a June 24 statement expressing their view on faculty unionization. 

“We respect the right of Miami University faculty to unionize,” the statement read.

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However, MU went on to warn that “[f]orming a collective bargaining unit will fundamentally change how we all work together to achieve our mission and serve our students. The operational, financial, and cultural implications are substantial.”

Some professors, like Dr. James Kiper of the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, oppose the move to form a union.

In a May 5 letter to the editor published in the student newspaper The Miami Student, Kiper listed a variety of reasons he thought unionizing would be detrimental to faculty, administrators, and to the university as a whole.

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“A faculty union would change from an atmosphere of collegiality to an adversarial relationship,” he wrote.

Other reasons he opposed the move included that unionizing “would have a singular focus rather than considering the university more holistically,” and that it “would result in extra, ongoing costs for the university and for individual faculty members.”

Campus Reform reached out to James Kiper and Miami University. This article will be updated accordingly.