Negotiations between the United Academics of Ohio University and Ohio University are still ongoing during the 2026-27 academic year, following over a year of previous negotiations.
The negotiations began after the faculty union was approved in May 2025 by the State Employment Relations Board. However, there was no smooth transition into the union, as OU filed a lawsuit against SERB nearly a week after 70% of staff voted in favor of the union.
The lawsuit is still underway, with the official notice of appeal stating, “The University appeals SERB's decision where it failed to conduct the necessary investigation into the University's post-election objections.”
A decision on the lawsuit is still being awaited.
This is the first time since the university’s founding in 1804 that there has been a faculty union.
Joe McLaughlin with the UAOU said the group filed a compensation proposal Oct. 29, 2025, and the proposal has yet to be acknowledged by the university.
McLaughlin, a professor of English, is one of nine OU faculty members on the UAOU negotiating team.
On Thursday, the UAOU posted a photo of a group of UAOU organizers to it's Instagram page with the caption, “This morning, Ohio University faculty showed up at the board of trustees meeting to deliver our open letter, signed by more than 1,000 faculty, staff, students, alumni, community members and allies calling on the board to support a fair contract for faculty.”
The caption went on to say, “Our community is paying attention and we expect Ohio University to invest in the faculty who make its educational mission possible. We’re at a pivotal point in bargaining. It's time for OU administration to come to the table ready to make real progress toward a fair first contract.”
They also posted a link in the caption for those who want to add their names to the open letter.
Dan Pittman, senior director of communication for University Communications and Marketing, wrote in an email that “Ohio University and the United Academics of Ohio University (UAOU) continue to make meaningful progress toward OHIO’s first faculty collective bargaining agreement since its founding, and the University remains focused on reaching an agreement that supports faculty while advancing OHIO’s academic mission and long-term institutional success.”
Pittman also wrote in his email that specific negotiation details between the university and UAOU are confidential, as per Ohio law, but the university will continue posting updates to its websites appropriately.
For those who want to learn more about the ongoing negotiations, more information can be found on the University's labor relations website.
As it stands now, negotiations center around compensation for all staff, greater job security and better working conditions for non-tenured staff, according to McLaughlin.
McLaughlin also said the UAOU has adapted to negotiations by having more people involved in its organizing committee that is “planning events, doing media campaigns, trying to ramp up pressure on the administration to get this done, to treat faculty with more respect and to invest more of its resources directly in students' educational experience.”
The next two meetings between UAOU and OU will be on August 24 and 26. McLaughlin said he hopes the university will be able to meet with the UAOU more than three times in September, as UAOU has proposed several dates to negotiate.
When asked if the UAOU was satisfied with the direction of negotiations last academic year, McLaughlin’s answer was a succinct “absolutely not,” as he did not feel that the UAOU and OU met often enough for agreements to be met and the union’s needs to be addressed.
Pittman, however, wrote in his email that “the University remains committed to approaching all negotiations thoughtfully, respectfully and in good faith.”
The Post will continue to release updates as more meetings and negotiations are held between OU and the UAOU.
