Duquesne University Appeals NLRB Decision

PITTSBURGH, March 6, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Duquesne University has filed a petition asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that requires the University to bargain with an adjunct faculty group.

Calling the decision unconstitutional, Duquesne filed a Petition for Review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Feb. 28, noting that the NLRB lacked a full complement of members and that the decision was based on a technical violation of the National Labor Relations Act.

With the appeal, Duquesne is not required to take any action regarding the NLRB decision at this time.

The NLRB decision ignores “decades of United States Supreme Court and Federal Court rulings that the NLRB has no jurisdiction over religious educational institutions like Duquesne,” wrote Duquesne University President Ken Gormley in an email to campus on Feb. 28.

He noted that the board lacked a full complement of its members and that two of the three panel members who issued the decision expressed “no opinion” on the merits of NLRB’s earlier decision in the University’s proceedings or on whether the NLRB case upon which the prior board panel relied (Pacific Lutheran University) was correctly decided.

“Just recently the general counsel of the NLRB expressed his opinion that the board lacked jurisdiction over another Catholic university and that the test used therein—the same test used in Duquesne’s case—violated the U.S. Constitution,” Gormley said.

Duquesne’s Catholic and Spiritan mission differentiates the University from non-religious academic institutions, he added.

“Unfortunately, the NLRB’s decision has undercut that mission and represents a misguided view of the Catholic identity of Duquesne, whose religious mission is embedded and pervasive throughout the University. We remain confident we will prevail in the federal courts,” he said.

Gormley added that the appeal to the court “does not lessen our commitment to our adjuncts, who are valuable members of the Duquesne community and are important contributors in achieving our mission of serving God by serving students.”

Duquesne University

Founded in 1878, Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation’s top Catholic universities for its award-winning faculty and tradition of academic excellence. Duquesne, a campus of nearly 9,500 graduate and undergraduate students, has been nationally recognized for its academic programs, community service and commitment to sustainability. Follow Duquesne University on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
www.duq.edu

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