09/04/2026
United Faculty-UAW hosted a “Respect the Vote” rally Wednesday morning, in response to the university’s appeal to the NLRB over a June election where 70% of non-tenure-track faculty voted in favor of unionizing.
After a nearly two-year long effort by NTT faculty to form a union, the Los Angeles regional NLRB decided in favor of their election. The university encouraged faculty to show up and vote in the weeks prior, but submitted a Request for Review to the NLRB in Washington when the election ended.
Janis Yue, an assistant professor of clinical occupational therapy, said the rally was a demand that USC drop their appeal to the NLRB regarding the June election results.
‘’I’m out here to demand that USC respect our vote, drop their appeal to the federal board and come to the bargaining table because they are using delay tactics to deny us of our democratic voice,” Yue said.
In a statement to Annenberg Media, the university wrote that they have asked the NLRB “to review the validity of this result as the first step toward obtaining much-needed legal clarity over these issues.”
““We are grateful to our faculty for all they do for our students and as partners in our academic mission,” the statement read.
For Sanjay Madhav, however, shared governance is not something he has experienced during his time as faculty at USC.
“Those of us that have worked here, we know that we don’t run the university,” said Madhav, a professor of practice in the Viterbi School of Engineering. “It’s the administration, it’s the board of trustees that run the university.”
Yue said she hopes the rally will put pressure on USC to both respect the 70% vote and come to the bargaining table.
“I don’t think we need more rhetoric about open dialogue. We need to actually see that in action,” Yue said.
📝Jackson Mills
📸Jeremy Wong
