#Solidarity with APSCUF

BATs, we have been asked for assistance from a member of our BAT Quality of Worklife Team for assistance.

The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties could use some support. They have been working without a contract for the past 16 months and have been under attack from our Chancellor’s office and our state legislators for the past 6 years.   After, enduring a great deal of frustration over the bargaining tactics and lack of good faith bargaining on the part of the Chancellor's office of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PSSHE), members overwhelmingly voted to provide our negotiation committee with strike authorization earlier in September and union leadership has set a strike date of October 19^th.  They have been working without a contract for over 450 days. The State System waited almost until one year after the expiration of the last contract to present a comprehensive proposal that included clauses that the faculty knows will be extremely detrimental to the state university system. 

As per APSCUF’s press release, some of these concerns are as follows: 

APSCUF objects to State System proposals that would affect the quality of education faculty members could provide to their students. Such proposals would, among other issues:

• Increase the number of temporary faculty and lead to reductions in permanent faculty who are devoted to their students.
• Allow students to be taught by new graduate students — new college graduates — instead of faculty with advanced degrees.
• Cut funding for faculty scholarship and professional development that allows faculty to bring current knowledge to students.
• Give university presidents unilateral authority to transfer faculty members to other departments

The Chancellor would like to change our university system into a diploma mill to generate revenue to support his exorbitant salary and the exorbitant salaries of our University Presidents and administrators.  He has failed to bargain in good faith.  His current proposals:

1.        Require that over 40% of the courses on our campuses are taught by part-time temporary (adjunct faculty).

2.       Require students to take courses on-line.

3.       Allow courses to be taught by students barely out of their undergraduate education, who are working on Masters degrees in their field – replacing full time, faculty who have terminal degrees in their fields.  

4.       Allow administrators to reassign faculty to any department at their will. 

5.       Require the lowest paid faculty in our system to increase their teaching load by 25% for the same pay they receive today.  

These changes will destroy the state system of higher education that serves the working and middle class families of our state.   The students in this system deserve the high quality education we have been able to provide since the Commonwealth created the state system.  These changes to our system would result in the children of working families in our state receiving a second class education.

None of the faculty want to see the students’ education interrupted.  They want to avert a stoppage and want the state system to work with them to reach an agreement that preserves the quality of their higher education system.  

You can show your support and help to preserve the system by:

1.       Sending an email to the chancellor, Frank Brogan @ chancellor@passhe.edu

2.       Signing their petition @  https://actionsprout.io/722096/initial

3.       Share this information with all of your friends, family and colleagues

To learn more about the contract negotiations, their issues and their drive to save the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education you can also visit the union web-site www.apscuf.org.