L abor law substantially affects union organizing and collective bargaining; those involved in higher education labor relations thus must master its intrica- cies. The NEA 1998 Almanac reviewed labor law related to higher education, and the NEA 2000 Almanac examined legal issues related to part-time faculty and graduate teaching assis- tants. 1 This chapter updates those reviews, emphasizing legal developments since 1997 in these areas: • Are faculty “employees” as defined by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)? • Are TAs “employees” as defined by bar- gaining laws? • Privatization and bargaining rights. • Protected rights to organize and bargain: other developments. • Definition of the bargaining unit. • The duty to bargain. • Enforceability of collective bargaining agreements. • Contract rights and statutory rights. • Duty of fair representation. • Agency shop and union shop provisions. • Other rights of union members and union dissidents. • Future prospects. 2 ARE FACULTY “EMPLOYEES” AS DEFINED BY THE NLRA? Faculty members at private colleges and universities and graduate teaching assistants (TAs) often lacked a legally protected right to organize and bargain collectively. The Supreme Court deemed faculty to be man- agers, and labor boards deemed TAs to be stu- dents—and therefore not covered as “employ- ees” under bargaining laws. But recently, labor boards have tended to classify faculty at pri- vate institutions and TAs as employees with protected rights to organize and bargain. Classifying faculty at private institutions as managers not protected by the NLRA began with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1980 Yeshiva ruling. 3 Yeshiva did not prohibit faculty THE NEA 2001 ALMANAC OF HIGHER EDUCATION 45 Higher Education Collective Bargaining And the Law by Gregory M. Saltzman Gregory M. Saltzman is professor of eco- nomics and management at Albion College and adjunct research scientist at the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Michigan. He previously taught at Brandeis University and Ohio State University. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Saltzman co-authored “Public Sector Collective Bargaining in Michigan: Law and Recent Developments,” to be published in 2001. His journal articles include studies of faculty and staff participation in college and university governance, public opinion con- cerning striker replacement, the U.S. and Canadian health insurance systems, the impact of managed care on mental health services for women, and efforts of an auto parts plant to screen out union sympathizers during hiring. Saltzman’s research includes an evaluation of the impact of a wellness counseling program on absenteeism and health care costs.