Swarthmore students campaign for card check neutrality in workers' unionizing, 2006

Swarthmore College is a small liberal arts college close to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  During the spring semester of 2006 campus workers at Swarthmore began to organize a union. For the union to be established a significant number of the workers had to vote in favor. However, some workers felt that the election method at the college, the standard National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) method, did not support a safe environment for the workers to freely express themselves. They believed that some college supervisors were sending subtle but powerful anti-union messages to the workers.

In response, a college student group known as the Swarthmore Labor Action Project (SLAP) requested the college to sign an agreement to foster a neutral environment, allowing workers to discuss freely the possibility of a union and the election method of card check neutrality.

Starting before spring break, SLAP scattered fliers around campus supporting the potential union. The general response of the student body was quite positive. Within the first days of circulation, 25% of the student body had signed a petition urging the college to switch the voting method to card check neutrality. 

On 14 March student union supporters met with Swarthmore College President Alfred Bloom to request card check neutrality conditions during the process of voting. On 23 March the President held a meeting of workers to hear their opinions regarding the formation and voting of the possible union. Soon after the meeting, the President declined the students’ request. 

Pro-union workers later alleged that the meeting was formed unprofessionally and secretively rather than via a staff meeting, as usual. They stated that were not informed of the meeting and complained that the fact that some workers were against the formation of the union (as expressed in the meeting with the president) was in no way a reason to close the discussion and deny the card check neutrality request altogether. 

Even though some students kept on lobbying, the campaign died out during the summer break, soon after the president’s denial.