In a rare ruling, the American Federation of Teachers has overturned the 2026 AFT Local 1796 officer election and ordered a re-election, finding that campaign rules unfairly favored Slate 1 by restricting members’ ability to communicate about the campaign.

“In particular, imposing election rules that prohibit campaigning to members who have not “opted-in” is an unreasonable restriction on members’ freedom of speech and inhibits a free and fair election. Therefore, we are directing AFT Local 1796 to re-run the 2026 election of officers consistent with this decision. The AFT’s decision on this matter is final.”

–> Single-page fact sheet now available!

AFT National ruled that limiting outreach to members who “opted in” unlawfully restricted free speech and prevented candidates from contacting voters through email, phone, and in person. This likely suppressed the votes of members in an extremely tight election in which one candidate’s victory was only a 7-vote margin.

Furthermore, AFT National found that the Local misapplied a state law to suppress members’ ability to campaign on campus. The national union cautioned the Local against assisting the employer in enforcing unlawful restrictions on union-election speech.

The ruling also reinstates the placement of Adjunct Faculty Representative candidate Kevin Keogan’s name on the ballot, as he was improperly disqualified from running.

Slate 2 is encouraged by AFT National’s validation that there were undemocratic rules in the election process and is ready to participate in a fair and robust campaign. The slate stands up for members’ rights as protected by our Contract.

Why has AFT National overturned the Spring 2026 election?

⚠️ Restrictions against campaigning on campus are unlawful. Our contract protects our right to hold leadership campaigns on campus.
⚠️ Members must have full access to all election materials, and anyone can utilize personal email and cell phones to campaign.
⚠️ Our Adjunct Representative candidate was unlawfully disqualified, raising serious concerns about the rights of adjunct faculty in our union.
Union leaders who are willing to throw our rights under the bus in order to keep their power are not working for us!

📄 Read the full decision here [pdf]

And read news coverage of this decision in The Beacon.Background on the Systemic Misclassification of Adjunct Faculty

You can help rebuild our local!

✅ Spread the word about why AFT National has ordered a redo election.

✅ Talk with your colleagues about the need for ethical, trustworthy local leadership.

JOIN • REJOIN • VOTE

Our local’s membership is among the lowest in the state: about 51% overall and only 30% among adjunct faculty. That weakens us at the bargaining table.

Pushed out, bullied, or left because the union felt toxic or unresponsive? We need you back!

Every vote matters. Together, we can build a strong, democratic, powerful local.