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Pennsylvania Faculty Members at 14 State Universities Go On Strike Faculty Members at 14 State Universities in Pennsylvania Go on Strike
(about 9 hours later)
Thousands of university faculty members in Pennsylvania went on strike Wednesday morning after negotiations for a new contract between their union and state representatives broke down. Thousands of faculty members went on strike Wednesday at 14 Pennsylvania state colleges and universities — a rare escalation in higher education, but one that reflects increasingly widespread tensions between administrators and their faculties.
It is the first time that the union, the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, has gone on strike in its 34 years. It has been without a contract since June 30, 2015. The walkout is the first in the nearly 34-year history of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, and is one of a handful of faculty strikes around the country in recent years. The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, which represents the faculty members and coaches, has been without a contract since June 30, 2015.
Kenneth M. Mash, the union president, said on Wednesday that representatives for the state system walked away from negotiations at around 8:30 Tuesday night. “I never heard of anything like it with such a major strike looming, but that’s what they did,” Dr. Mash said in an interview. Just this year, professors at two of the nation’s largest public university systems came close to striking; a threatened faculty walkout was just days away at the California State University, and weeks away at the City University of New York, when new contracts were reached. And more labor disputes are expected in the wake of a landmark ruling in August by the National Labor Relations Board that students who work as research and teaching assistants can unionize and demand to be treated as employees.
In a statement on the union’s website, he wrote, “At 11:35 p.m., we made a last attempt to negotiate through back channels. We waited until 5 a.m. We are headed to the picket lines.” “Labor issues are far more prominent on the radar screen of higher education than they were 10 or 20 years ago,” said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, the nation’s largest association of colleges and universities.
No new meetings were scheduled, he said. At many public universities, in particular, declining government subsidies have led to stagnant pay and declining benefits. And colleges and universities, both public and private, have greatly increased their reliance on part-time or adjunct faculty members who are paid less than full-time professors, and sometimes receive little or no benefits.
Kenn Marshall, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, said he was disappointed that the faculty members went on strike. The striking union in Pennsylvania represents more than 5,000 professors and coaches at 14 institutions across the state with a combined enrollment of more than 100,000 students: Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. It does not include the faculty at Penn State University, Temple University, the University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln University.
“We understand it’s been a long time,” he said. “They’ve been working for well over a year without a contract, but we’re facing some very serious fiscal challenges here.” A crucial issue is how much faculty must pay for health insurance. Kenneth M. Mash, the president of the union, said it had agreed to accept reduced coverage and higher out-of-pocket costs, but that was not enough to satisfy the state system.
The union represents more than 5,000 professors and coaches at 14 institutions across the state with a combined enrollment of more than 100,000 students: Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. Professors were offered the same package as other employee groups, Kenn Marshall, a spokesman for the state system, said. “Not only is this a matter of cost savings, but we think it’s a matter of fairness,” he said.
It does not represent the faculty at Penn State University, Temple University, the University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln University. Dr. Mash said representatives of the state system walked away from negotiations on Tuesday.
Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said in a statement that he was “extremely disappointed” at the failure by the two sides to reach an agreement. “The resulting strike is detrimental to the system and will have far-reaching effects for years to come,” he said. Another sticking point at the Pennsylvania campuses, as it was in the CUNY dispute, is the union’s bid to narrow the compensation gap between adjunct and full-time faculty. The university system has withdrawn earlier proposals to increase professor workloads, and to increase its reliance on temporary faculty.
A key issue for those on strike is health care: who pays for it and how much. The state system said that it had offered the faculty members the same health care package as other state employees. Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania said in a statement that he was “extremely disappointed” at the failure by the two sides to reach an agreement. “The resulting strike is detrimental to the system and will have far-reaching effects for years to come,” he said.
“They basically want better coverage and to have their members pay less for it” than other state employees, Mr. Marshall said in an interview. “Not only is this a matter of cost savings, but we think it’s a matter of fairness.” Mr. Marshall said the universities would do everything possible to enable students to complete the semester, but “the longer the strike goes, the harder that becomes.”
Dr. Mash said, however, that the union had accepted “dramatic” reductions in health care coverage and had offered to pay deductibles, accept an increase in premiums and pay more for prescriptions. The state system urged students to attend classes despite the strike. It was not clear how many faculty members chose to cross picket lines and continue teaching.
“They’ve gone after the quality of education that we provide, going after our adjunct faculty,” 60 percent of whom are women, Dr. Mash said. But some students sided with the faculty, joining picket lines, organizing on Twitter under the hashtags #PassheStudentPower and #withAPSCUF, and carrying signs that read, “Educators Are Not Machines.”
The state had urged students to attend classes despite the strike. On the campus of West Chester University, in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, striking faculty members set up 10 picket lines on Wednesday, attracting support from about 120 students who marched with placards and shouted encouragement.
Some students appeared to be joining the picket lines, organizing on Twitter under the hashtags #PassheStudentPower and #withAPSCUF.
Mr. Marshall said a few parents had been in touch with his office, and some students had express concern that a lengthy strike could delay graduations.
“Once the strike is over, we will do everything we can to try to make certain that students can complete the semester,” he said. “The longer the strike goes, the harder that becomes.”
On the campus of West Chester University, in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, striking faculty members set up 10 picket lines on Wednesday morning, attracting support from about 120 students who marched with placards and shouted encouragement.
“Without a quality contract, they can’t do their best job teaching us,” said Aaron Musselman, 32, a senior. “They deserve a quality contract, and to be paid fairly for their profession.”“Without a quality contract, they can’t do their best job teaching us,” said Aaron Musselman, 32, a senior. “They deserve a quality contract, and to be paid fairly for their profession.”
Mr. Musselman, who held a sign saying, “This Student Stands With A.P.S.C.U.F.,” and carried his 18-month-old daughter, Lydia, in a backpack, said he planned to stay away from a class that evening.Mr. Musselman, who held a sign saying, “This Student Stands With A.P.S.C.U.F.,” and carried his 18-month-old daughter, Lydia, in a backpack, said he planned to stay away from a class that evening.
Students carrying signs that said, “Educators Are Not Machines” were given fliers urging them to stay away from classes, though the university staff urged them to attend. Ed Lordan, a professor of communications and a spokesman for the union, said many faculty members were saddened by the strike, but believed they had no choice after working without a contract for the past 15 months.
Ed Lordan, a professor of communications studies and a spokesman for the union, said many faculty members were saddened by the decision to strike but believed they had no choice after working without a contract for the past 15 months.
“We feel as though a strike was necessary to move things forward,” Professor Lordan said.
“It’s not something anybody wanted to do,” he added. “Clearly, we understand the harm that is done to the students. We recognize this is a dramatic step despite it being a necessary one.”“It’s not something anybody wanted to do,” he added. “Clearly, we understand the harm that is done to the students. We recognize this is a dramatic step despite it being a necessary one.”
He said he was unaware if any faculty members had crossed the picket lines, but said it would not be surprising if a few did so, given that there are about 900 professors at the university.
Stephen Gliatto, a 24-year-old postgraduate music student, said he was attending West Chester because of its “exceptional” faculty, and had come out to support the strike.
He said he had missed three classes so far on Wednesday and had ignored instructions by the university staff to show up for class even if no professor was there to teach it. He said his professors, most of whom are in the union, had warned him they might not be teaching starting on Wednesday.
News of the strike briefly crashed the union’s website. Email responses from Kathryn Morton, a spokeswoman for the union, warned that she would be walking on the picket line and might be delayed in responding to messages.
Ms. Morton’s message said, “If you are emailing from a university email address, I will not be able to respond until the strike is resolved, as answering a university email address would be crossing the picket line.”