A respected local University shocked its faculty and its students recently by abruptly ending labor negotiations and invoking a religious exemption to shut down a campus union. In this episode, we hear from professors fighting for fair pay, job security, and respect in a high-stakes labor battle at Loyola Marymount University.

Brian Wisch and Linh Hwa, both non-tenure track (NTT) faculty at LMU and members of the union, explain the vital importance of NTT teachers at colleges and universities, discuss their working conditions and wages at LMU, and recount how ongoing labor negotiations were scuttled last month when the Jesuit university claimed national labor law did not apply to the school.

Some recent coverage:

Loyola Marymount abruptly rescinds recognition of faculty union, claiming religious exemption: 

Loyola Marymount said it will no longer recognize its faculty union

What's at stake as USC and LMU push back against untenured faculty unions?

Loyola Marymount Announces It Will No Longer Recognize Faculty Labor Union, Followed by Heated Town Hall Meeting

Loyolan “Voices of the Newsroom” Podcast: 

Other Links and Resources

Safeguarding LMU's Future: A Message from LMU Board Chair Paul Viviano

LMU: The Path Forward

LMU Student Labor and Employment Law Society Urges Admin, Board to Return to Bargaining with NTT Faculty

Faculty in LMU’s Theological Studies Department Call on Admin, Board to Revoke Claims of “Religious Exemption” to Unions

LMU alumni, families, staff, faculty colleagues, and community supporters template to send a message to the admin and board: https://secure.everyaction.com/zLZIqaL4ZkivQMzvMF3gjw2

The LMU NTT faculty union Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/lmu_nttfaculty/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.