Three new Emerson College groups voted to join SEIU Local 888 on May 3. The Communications and Marketing, Institutional Advancement, and Information Technology units voted in separate NLRB elections. The organizing win follows a successful bid last month by employees in the Academic Affairs unit. The combined four groups are expected to become a bargaining unit of about 150 members.

[caption id="attachment_6790" align="alignright" width="300"]New Local 888 members (left to right): Jaqi Holland, Elbert Lee, Sarah Benkendorf, Phyllis Meyers, Richelle Devereaux-Murray, Ashley Tarbet-Destefano, Anna Feder, Jim Delaney, and Estelle Ticktin.[/caption]

The new units will each elect their coworkers to a bargaining committee to negotiate their first agreement with Emerson management.

"As an alumna of Emerson College and now a staff member, I am proud to be part of a group that has come together to form our union so that we can make our school a better place to work and learn," said Nerissa Williams Scott, an Assistant Manager at the Paramount Center.

"We built relationships across departments and across job titles. We heard from our colleagues about why they love to work at Emerson as well as the things they would like to see improved," said Nancy Howell, a Senior Copy Editor. "Now that we have voted in our union, we look forward to negotiating a first contract that addresses our concerns."

The workers will be joining hundreds of similar employees at UMass Lowell, Boston University, and Brandeis University who are already united in Local 888.

"The momentum is building in area colleges and universities for a voice on the job and collective bargaining," said Mark DelloRusso, president of Local 888. "We welcome all of the new Emerson members to Local 888 and to the Boston-area labor movement."