The faculty union at Salt Lake Community College has brought suit against the Utah board of regents, charging that its sudden refusal last year to bargain with the union is a violation of state labor law.

In May 1998, the long-established independent faculty union at the college voted to amend its constitution to allow affiliation with the AFT and the state federation, AFT-Utah. As an independent, the union had been meeting and conferring with the college administration since 1990, negotiating and signing annual contracts, or "memorandums of agreement," with management, explains Craig Smith, president of the Salt Lake Community College Faculty Association. The association sought AFT affiliation in the hope that it would give the union more resources and clout to deal with academic issues on campus and funding issues in the Legislature. Twelve days after the affiliation vote, however, the regents took a vote of their own. Not only did they nix recognizing the AFT as the SLCCFA's bargaining agent, they also voted to prohibit collective bargaining at any higher education institution in the state.

Since the regents' vote, the college has continued to meet with the union but will not sign any documents. Instead, the management team passes on recommendations to the president--which he invariably approves, says Smith. The union then votes. "We are bargaining in good faith," Smith adds.

The lawsuit charges that, because the regents' new policy violates the faculty group's past practice of negotiating an agreement, it violates the faculty's right to work. The outcome of the suit, which should go to court in the spring, will affect the other colleges in the state--where faculty are seeking a stronger voice with their legislatures and on their campuses--whether or not the regents change the policy covering all higher education institutions in Utah, says Smith. In the meantime, SLCCFA has organized a political action committee and is working on, among other things, legislation that will make the board of regents an elected body rather than the governor's appointed group.