USC adjunct faculty rally with mayor and councilmember urging union recognition

A rally of at least 200 USC adjunct and nontenure-track faculty, alongside students and allies, took place at the Tommy Trojan statue, pressing the university to acknowledge a union representing about 2,700 lecturers, clinicians and librarians. The union, United Faculty-UAW, won a June election with roughly 70% support, but USC has appealed to the National Labor Relations Board, claiming the workers have management rights through shared governance and that the unit is too expansive.

Mayor Karen Bass wrote to President Beong-Soo Kim urging the school to abandon the legal challenge and bargain in good faith, and Councilmember Nithya Raman spoke, highlighting the precarious conditions of adjunct faculty and demanding the appeal be dropped. Other speakers included city attorney candidate Marissa Roy and state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas. USC’s statement expressed gratitude to faculty while requesting a swift NLRB review. The rally occurs as Bass and Raman vie for labor endorsements in the mayoral race, with both candidates receiving union support.