Final AAUP Bargaining Recap

Dear Colleagues,

I write one last time on behalf of the PSU-AAUP Negotiating Team. As you know, at our May 23rd bargaining session, we arrived at a tentative agreement with the administration over our faculty union’s first contract. In the weeks since, members of our team have worked with members of the Administration’s Negotiation Team to clear up any typos, errors, or confusion in the 70+ page document. That work is now complete, and we are proud of the proposed contract you will vote on later this month.

As is customary, our AAUP Executive Committee has put together a separate team to conduct the ratification process. That effort will be led by Anne Jung-Mathews and a volunteer “ratification team” from among the faculty. Anne will be emailing all of you soon with details about the ratification process. The Negotiating Team will make a presentation to–and answer questions from–our members at a special meeting on June 25 (11 am, HUB 109).

Most of all, we hope members will turn out in force to vote on ratification. While we expect that faculty will be pleased with many of the details in the contract, the most important outcome is the shift in PSU culture that the contract has enabled. Our agreement with the administration — based on clear expectations for transparency, fairness, and accountability — provides much needed clarity in a time of transition and allows faculty and administration to plan, strategize, and allocate resources carefully. A strong turnout from union membership will demonstrate our commitment to this new ethos.

For the Negotiating Team, first appointed in September of 2016, this will mark the end of nearly two years of training, preparation, deliberation, and hard work. Our success in these negotiations is deeply rooted in the efforts of dozens of faculty, who gave generously of their time and talent on research teams, the Contract Action Team, and the Executive Committee. We thank them, and we thank all of you who wrote with support or suggestions, attended membership meetings, and turned out for key bargaining sessions. It has been our privilege to work with and for our faculty in these negotiations.

Enjoy your summer…but not so much that you forget to vote on the contract!

Cheers,
your PSU-AAUP Negotiating Team:

Scott Coykendall Ann McClellan
Liz Ahl Alice Pearman
Elliott Gruner Justin Wright

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