At the end of September, faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) voted to unionize at The Coffee House. Passing by majority, CIM faculty joined the American Federation of Musicians, (AFM) Local 4, which includes professional musicians from The Cleveland Orchestra.

According to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), 81 ballots were submitted with 56 voting in favor and 26 voting against unionization. Twenty-five of these ballots were challenged for their legitimacy.

During the campaigning stage, both sides presented passionate and charged arguments. Robert Vernon, a former violin professor at CIM, argued against a union, saying that “AFM’s leadership and negotiators have no experience in negotiating salaries and compensation for college or university faculties” and that they are unable to bridge the gap between issues unrelated to compensation.

A YouTube video, which has since been deleted, from Bonnie Cook, a secretary of the board of trustees of CIM, also encouraged faculty to vote against unionization efforts.

“CIM’s leadership team and faculty have worked diligently to turn CIM around,” Cook said. “It is my opinion that we don’t need a third-party union to come between our faculty and leadership.” She further mentioned that a union would increase the possibility of strikes, which would impact CIM students.

She concluded the video by saying, “While unions have value for performing artists, I fear that a union at CIM will interfere with our sustainability as an educational institution, and consequently, not be of help to our students.”

Many of the individuals who supported unionization emphasized the need for better treatment. Frank Rosenwein, a professor at CIM who supported the union, said, “The faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music is composed of world-class musicians and educators … We deserve to be treated as such, whether teaching in the conservatory, the Joint Music Program with Case Western Reserve University, or the Academy.”

Organizers also created a small website to post their rallying cries. In the most recent post, they argued that the vote was not “against administration—it is a vote for ourselves, for our dignity, and for the future of our profession.”

Certified on Oct. 7, the text of the certification of representative notes that “Guest instructors and Guest conductors” are not eligible to join the union. Though, there is still ongoing litigation about who is subjected to the agreement. Leonard DiCosmio, the president of the AFM Local 4, noted that from the vote, “Directors and Division/Department Heads are neither included in nor excluded from the bargaining unit covered by this certification.”

He said, “It remains the position of Local 4 that these faculty members are to be included in the new bargaining unit and will request a hearing before the NLRB to finalize the definition of the bargaining unit if a voluntary agreement cannot be achieved with CIM.” According to the NLRB, there were not enough votes cast by these individuals to influence the outcome of the election.

DiCosimo further detailed that a similar situation had occurred with faculty in the Joint Music Program, their academy and public programs. He said, “The Union prevailed in pre-hearing sessions and teachers in all departments were included in the election. The remaining faculty members that are now being challenged by CIM had an opportunity to participate in the election as a voter subject to challenge, and all parties agreed that they may request a review of the post-election determinations.”

While the unionization pull is strong across East Boulevard, it remains to be seen if these waves will hit elsewhere in University Circle. In early 2024, staff at The Holden Arboretum, which runs the Cleveland Botanical Garden, rejected a union vote. At CWRU, the last union vote took place in 2014 in the Division of Public Safety, where out of the then 14 police officers, nine voted against forming a union.

In a statement from CIM to Crain’s Cleveland Business, CIM administration said, “The CIM administration will respect the results of the vote and looks forward to working with our outstanding faculty to continue to accomplish our mission, to empower the world’s most talented classical music students to fulfill their dreams and potential.”

The vote reflects a national trend of increased unionization across higher education, as 27% of faculty members in the United States are a part of a union.