Fighting to be fired (but only with just cause): The unionization of nontenure-track faculty

In sum, we believe that our organizing and bargaining have begun to expand the scope of academic freedom and improve the quality of undergraduate education, at little if any cost to accessibility. We recognize that the University of Michigan-or, at least, its Ann Arbor campus-is a relatively rich university. The numbers may not work out so well elsewhere. Still, our experience suggests that if our counterparts in other universities and colleges organize and bargain hard, they can significantly improve their own situation. And they can increase the effectiveness with which the higher education system serves our students and the common good.