Faculty bargaining in private colleges and universities: Beyond Yeshiva

In 1980, the U.S. Supreme court inYeshiva University v. NLRB ruled that faculty members in some private colleges and universities are managerial employees, and, thus, are not entitled to the protection provided under federal labor law. Since then, the courts and the National Labor Relations Board have heard a number of cases arising out ofYeshiva. This article first reviews the status of managerial and professional employees under the NLRA, then examines how the law has been applied in the aftermath ofYeshiva. We conclude that while a few general principles have evolved, the courts have yet to establish clear criteria for defining “managerial” as applied to university faculty. We note that theYeshiva case has resulted in a substantive decline in collective bargaining among faculty in private sector higher educational institutions, and that the criteria arising out of the decision have the potential for restricting collective bargaining coverage outside academia.