It has been more than 100 days since Ohio University responded to the United Academics of Ohio University’s proposal regarding faculty compensation and benefits.
OU and the UAOU began negotiations in August 2025 following the union’s successful certification election in spring 2025. The negotiations will determine the terms of the university’s first faculty union contract.
John O’Keefe, an associate professor of history at OU Chillicothe and UAOU’s director of communications, said the organization began forming in 2020 during the pandemic. The group held its certification election in spring 2025 and began formal bargaining later that year.
O’Keefe said although he holds the communications title, the union operates collectively and is focused on addressing concerns about faculty working conditions and equity.
According to the UAOU website, the union’s mission includes securing “a just, safe, equitable and collegial environment” for teaching and research, negotiating compensation and working conditions that support recruitment and retention, strengthening shared governance and defending academic freedom.
Since August 2025, UAOU representatives and university officials have met 14 times. Negotiations include UAOU’s negotiations team, university administrators and outside legal counsel retained by the university.
Dan Pittman, a university spokesperson, said there were productive discussions throughout the academic year.
“Because Ohio Revised Code 4117.21 directs all parties to maintain confidentiality in relation to matters discussed during negotiation meetings, we’re unable to comment on specific proposals,” Pittman said in an email. “However, we can share that it remains our hope that we can collectively move this negotiations process forward in a thoughtful and thorough manner.”
Pittman added that “many productive discussions have occurred” since bargaining began in August 2025, including two meetings earlier this month.
UAOU and the university most recently met Feb. 25. A prior session Feb. 11 included proposals and counterproposals from both sides.
“We did get some counterproposals in that meeting,” O’Keefe said. “We got counter proposals on purpose, personnel records, union access to information and facilities and outside work and activities.”
One major focus of negotiations is academic freedom. O’Keefe said the union considers the freedom to teach and conduct research without external pressure central to the role of faculty.
“That scholarly freedom is key to being a researcher who is going to go beyond the current trends or fashions,” O’Keefe said. “But we've also seen since the passage of the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act and sort of a broader climate of hostility to academic freedom that we've seen in the United States.”
Compensation and benefits remain unresolved. UAOU submitted its proposal on that section in November, and O’Keefe said the union has not yet received a response.
The university’s webpage on negotiations said that during the bargaining process, it will maintain the “status quo” related to wages and working conditions for union-represented faculty, as required under Ohio’s collective bargaining law.
UAOU has continued public messaging about its goals, including job security for faculty. In a March 1 Instagram post, the union said, “Faculty dedicate their careers to teaching, mentoring, and research. They deserve job security. A fair contract ensures stability for the people who guide students every day.”
The next negotiation session is scheduled for March 18.
Pittman said the university intends to take the time necessary to reach an agreement.
“We owe it to future generations of faculty and students who will be impacted by the result of this first contract negotiation to take the time necessary to get it right,” Pittman said in an email.
O’Keefe said the union’s goals are tied to the long-term direction of the university.
“All of this is really important for the future of the university,” O’Keefe said. “We want a university that really serves its mission in teaching, in outreach to the community. We want to make sure that we remain a top researching institution. Making sure that the universe remains a quality institution is something that we really care about and is very much tied to what we're trying to do.”
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