Leaders of a union that represents 6,000 professors and coaches at Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities will meet on Saturday in State College to initiate procedures for a strike vote, a spokesman for the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties said Wednesday.
The meeting is spurred by a letter from State System of Higher Education Chancellor John Cavanaugh that rejected the union's request to send the protracted contract dispute to binding arbitration.
Negotiators are close to agreement on a wage package similar to the four-year agreement between the state and its workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which called for raises of 10.75 percent over the life of the contract.
Faculty compensation ranges from an average annual base salary of $104,305.13 for full professors to $46,379.66 for instructors.
But the sides are bitterly divided over retirement health care benefits and compensation for temporary or adjunct faculty members, which is based on each class taught.
Union spokeswoman Lauren Gutshall said its leaders are prepared to take a strike authorization vote that would trigger votes by members at the 14 campuses including Indiana, California and Slippery Rock universities in Western Pennsylvania.
“The faculty want to settle a fair contract,” Gutshall said.
Mark Staszkiewicz, an IUP professor who heads the local union at Indiana, said the state system's proposals — one of which he said calls for temporary faculty to take on additional duties or receive less pay and another that would have new employees pay toward retiree health benefits — would set up a two-tiered system. Current employees would earn retiree health benefits at no cost to them, and temporary faculty, who teach many of the same courses as tenure track faculty, would be compensated on a reduced basis.
“It's a major game changer, and it's not how we do business,” Staszkiewicz said.
In his letter to the union, Cavanaugh said the state system must begin charging new employees for retiree health benefits, estimated at $1.4 billion, to help pay for them.
The move to “realign” compensation for temporary faculty would make the state system's pay rates comparable to that of other regional universities, he said.
Professor Michael Slavin, president of the union local at California, said Cavanaugh's decision was not a surprise.
Cavanaugh sent a letter to the union on Monday saying it would be improper for school officials who answer to taxpayers to defer to a third-party arbitrator.
Members of the faculty union, who have been working without a contract since June 30, 2011, have taken strike authorization votes before but have never walked out.
“Do I think we will be ready to strike? Absolutely. Do I hope we will not have to strike? Absolutely,” Slavin said.
State system spokesman Kenn Marshall said the universities have a total enrollment of 114,800; all have plans to continue operations in the event of a strike.
State system officials announced they had reached a tentative contract agreement with 600 admissions, financial aid, residence life and other student support service officers represented by the State College and University Professional Association. Union and state system officials would say only that the tentative contract would run through June 2015.
Debra Erdley is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-320-7996 or derdley@tribweb.com.
