Dive Brief:

• A regional director for the National Labor Relations Board has rejected Seattle University’s claim that the school’s contingent faculty are not eligible to form a union.
• As a Roman Catholic university, the school claimed it was too religious to come under NLRB jurisdiction, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
• The university had also argued that the adjunct faculty at the school trying to form a union couldn’t do so because some were managers. The NLRB ruled that the faculty members in question were not managers.

Dive Insight:

This battle is playing out as part of the Service Employees International Union's efforts to organize adjunct faculty in specific metro areas. Seattle University hasn’t said whether it will appeal the ruling, but four other colleges are appealing similar NLRB rulings: Pacific Lutheran University in Washington and three Catholic colleges. The contingent faculty members who are trying to organize at Seattle include both part- and full-time employees.