SAN DIEGO – Faculty members at the University of San Diego (USD) have overwhelmingly ratified their first union contract, marking a critically important milestone in the ongoing movement to organize higher education workers. The contract was approved Friday with 99% of voting members in favor.
The agreement covers approximately 200 non-tenure-track faculty in USD’s College of Arts and Sciences and was negotiated with Service Employees International Union Local 721. It provides wage increases, retroactive pay, and job security provisions based on seniority-a key demand throughout the bargaining process.
“Now, we have more transparency and a system of seniority,” said Soroya Rowley, a theater lecturer and spokesperson for the bargaining team. ”Folks will either be hired for new assignments or,if we need to make cuts,let go from classes based on their seniority.”
Non-tenure-track faculty comprise over half of the teaching staff within the College of Arts and Sciences. Their path to this agreement included a two-day strike in may, prompted by university decisions to cut courses without consulting the union.
“They saw that we were serious, that we had this collective power, that we could withhold our labor if we had to,” Rowley explained. “That was what we needed to get us here.”
The finalized contract stipulates that USD will now pay faculty a cancellation fee if their workload is reduced after July 1 for the fall semester or Dec. 1 for the spring semester.
USD acknowledged the agreement in a statement, thanking “all involved for their time and diligence throughout the collective bargaining process.” The university affirmed its value for non-tenure-track faculty and its commitment to financial sustainability, stating that its “mission…is our students.”
Rowley expressed gratitude for the support received from students and fellow faculty, and signaled further organizing efforts. “My dream is for all the workers at USD to become unionized and have a say in their working conditions,” she said. “I think when everyone else sees what we won in our collective bargaining agreement, they’re going to feel ready to take the next step to organizing their own units.”
The four-year contract is retroactive to Fall 2024 and will remain in effect until March 2028.
