Resources
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Lawsuit
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Incident Political Orientation:
Not Clear -
Incident Responses:
Litigation
Title IX or other federal statute
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Incident Status:
In litigation Federal District Court
- Did not involve Speech Codes
Summary
On October 6, 2025, two faculty unions at St. John’s University filed an unfair labor practice charge with the New York State Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) during negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The previous agreement had expired on June 30, 2025. The unions alleged that the university had not provided information concerning how it calculated health insurance premiums. In November 2025, St. John’s denied the allegations and argued that PERB lacked jurisdiction over the university because it was a religious institution. The university also argued that its faculty members were “managerial employees” who could not be included in a bargaining unit and that federal law preempted PERB’s jurisdiction.
On February 19, 2026, St. John’s notified faculty that it would no longer recognize the two faculty unions, which had represented faculty in collective bargaining since 1970. The university said that ending recognition would give it the “flexibility required to innovate” and advance its Catholic and Vincentian mission. The unions disputed the decision and maintained that the university was required to recognize them under New York law. The decision led to additional labor disputes and faculty protests.
The unions subsequently filed additional unfair labor practice allegations with PERB. On April 23, 2026, they alleged that St. John’s had surveilled and recorded faculty involved in union activities and had solicited faculty to participate in a working group that would change terms and conditions of employment without collective bargaining. The unions also alleged that the university had violated state labor law by withdrawing recognition of the unions. Faculty members continued to hold demonstrations, including a May 1 rally at the university.
Separately, on June 1, 2026, St. John’s filed St. John’s University v. Connick in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against PERB and several PERB officials. The university sought to prevent PERB from exercising jurisdiction over its relationship with the faculty unions, arguing that mandatory collective bargaining would “impermissibly entangle” the government in matters related to its Catholic and Vincentian mission and internal governance. The complaint asserted claims under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and challenged the application of New York’s State Employment Relations Act to the university. The federal lawsuit challenged PERB’s authority on constitutional grounds, while the separate PERB proceeding concerned the unions’ allegations that St. John’s violated state labor law.
