Almost a year after their vote, Northwestern University's nontenured-track faculty will finally be able to unionize, according to SEIU Local 73, which will represent the faculty. The outcome was delayed after a number of ballots were contested, resulting in an appeal filed with the NLRB by the university. Faculty had decided to organize over concerns that too much of the teaching burden at the school has landed on their shoulders due to a shift at Northwestern away from supporting tenured faculty tracks. The NLRB's ruling strengthens nontenured faculty's position, enabling them to collectively bargain with the university over the terms of their employment.
See "Months after vote, Northwestern faculty members unionize", Ally Marotti, Chicago Tribune, May 31, 2017