Penn State faculty organizers say the university is going against its pledge to hold a neutral position on unionizing, but the university counters that it's merely providing information and encouraging faculty to vote.
Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi testified at a Pennsylvania House appropriations hearing last week. In response to a question from Democratic Representative Tarik Khan, Bendapudi agreed to not use university resources to discourage people from joining a union.
“Will you commit not to use any university funds, or taxpayer money or any other resources to discourage people from exercising their democratic right to join a union?” Khan asked.
“Yes," Bendapudi replied.
But, faculty organizers say in a news release, that on the university website with information on the union effort the university “disingenuously implies that unionization would risk Penn State’s research capabilities, its ability to maintain grant-funded work, and the privacy and autonomy of faculty.” And, union organizers say, upcoming meetings the university administration will be holding with faculty are "anti-union."
“We have an important decision ahead of us this semester. We can choose to have a real say in decision-making at Penn State by voting for our faculty union. I am so disappointed by President Bendapudi and her administration’s reversal of last week’s commitment not to use university resources or public funds to interfere with our union election,” Michael Steward, faculty organizer and associate teaching professor of mathematics at University Park, said in the news release.
One of the answers to the FAQs on the university’s faculty unionization website says: “Collective bargaining can limit the ability of individual faculty members to negotiate agreements customized around research needs and teaching loads.”
A Penn State spokesman said in an email that the website "was developed to provide clear information about the unionization process and related considerations."
He said the university respects faculty's right to unionize and the upcoming town halls "are intended to serve as information sessions in response to questions received about faculty unionization through a variety of channels, including requests from academic leadership to address questions from their colleges."
"The goal is to highlight the process, share information about who will be included in the collective bargaining unit and encourage faculty to educate themselves further about the process and, most importantly, vote in the upcoming election," he said in an email.
The union would be affiliated with the Service Employees International Union Local 668 and represent more than 5,000 faculty members. According to organizers, voting is slated to start in April, with the state Labor Relations Board mailing ballots on April 1. They have to be returned by mail by May 6.
