How else would unionization affect faculty-student relationships?
Administration Responds: Some are concerned that there would be a chilling of the collegial relationship between budding scholars and mentors once faculty members are cast in the role of “supervisors” and students in the role of “employees” under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act. For fear of being charged with committing unfair labor practices by interfering with the union’s role as the exclusive bargaining agent, professors might be reluctant to have wide-ranging discussions with students they might otherwise have. Moreover, a collective bargaining agreement would likely establish formal procedures for students to bring grievances against faculty members — procedures that could exacerbate conflicts between students and professors. Once the target of a grievance, faculty members might be restrained in further interactions with the complaining students out of a concern that legitimate scholarly criticism or disagreement might be misinterpreted as retaliatory.
