Calling on Temple University to abandon its efforts to void the democratic, Pennsylvania Labor Board certified, election of the Temple University Graduate Students' Association/American Federation of Teachers as the collective bargaining representative for its teaching and research assistants and to immediately begin contract negotiations, and to bargain in good faith with that union.

WHEREAS, On November 2, 2000, the City Council of Philadelphia unanimously passed a resolution calling on Temple University to recognize the Temple University Graduate Students' Association/American Federation of Teachers (TUGSA/AFT) as the collective bargaining representative for its teaching and research assistants; and

WHEREAS, On March 27th and 28th, 2001, after three long years of organizing, Temple University's teaching assistants and research assistants overwhelmingly voted, by a vote of 290-16, to have TUGSA/AFT represent them in collective bargaining negotiations with the Temple administration; and

WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board has certified these election results and TUGSA/AFT as the collective bargaining agent for Temple's 552 Teaching and Research Assistants; and

WHEREAS, Temple University has announced its intention to file legal exceptions to this order of certification and seek to void the election results; and

WHEREAS, No university has ever before attempted to overturn the results of an official, Labor Board sponsored union election among its graduate employees at any of the 29 university campuses where graduate employees have already unionized; and

WHEREAS, Temple University's administration recognizes and bargains in good faith with all of the 9 other unions at the university; and

WHEREAS, Temple University receives millions of dollars of public money in direct funding and tax exemptions making it even more important that it bargain in good faith with the designated representatives of all of its employees;

now therefore, be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA

,

Hereby calls on Temple University to abandon its efforts to void the democratic, Pennsylvania Labor Board certified, election of the Temple University Graduate Students' Association/American Federation of Teachers as the collective bargaining representative for its teaching and research assistants and to immediately begin contract negotiations, and to bargain in good faith with that union.

FURTHER RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA

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Hereby condemns Temple University's actions in seeking to file legal exceptions in an effort to overturn the democratic vote of its own employees; and

FURTHER RESOLVED

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That a true and correct copy of this resolution be sent to Temple University President David Adamany and all members of the Temple Board of Trustees as evidence of the grave concern of this legislative body.

End