With a goal of better pay and benefits, more job security and a stronger voice, a group of faculty at Penn State is taking steps to unionize.
Heather Page, the student engagement and outreach librarian at Penn State Fayette, is on the Penn State Faculty Alliance’s organizing committee. Page said members of the group love Penn State and, as the administration says, they’re trying to build a “future-ready university that best serves our students.”
“We feel that without the bargaining power that a union gives us, we will not be able to do that effectively," Page said.
Penn State has about 7,600 faculty. To get to the vote on whether to unionize, 30% of professors and instructors have to sign off in support. Those authorization cards will be submitted to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. Organizers believe the union will include tenured, non-tenured and part-time faculty, but the PLRB makes the final decision about who can be included.
Page declined to say exactly where they are in the process of gathering signatures but said they are on track to file.
“We're having so many conversations with faculty every day, and everyone is really enthusiastic about forming a union," Page said.
The alliance’s priorities include compensation, job security and a stronger voice for faculty.
A Penn State website about unionization says the university wants to “maintain a positive, supportive work environment and values the contributions of university employees.” And, it says, "faculty have several ways to raise concerns without a union."
The faculty alliance would be part of the Service Employees International Union. Pennsylvania’s three other state-related universities — Pitt, Temple and Lincoln — have faculty unions.
Penn State’s graduate students are also in the process of unionizing. That vote is scheduled for Oct. 27-29 at University Park and at Hershey Tuesday. Graduate students at Penn State Behrend, Harrisburg and Great Valley will vote by mail before Nov. 12.
