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APSCUF issued the following response today after negotiations with the State System:

The State System today rejected the one-year compromise the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties proposed in mid-October.

Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education countered with a proposal that would cost faculty members thousands of dollars more for healthcare.

APSCUF, which represents about 5,500 faculty and coaches at the State System universities, could not agree to such major changes, President Dr. Kenneth M. Mash said.

Neither the contract deal Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf reached with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees nor the contract the State System reached with the State College and University Professional Association contained changes to healthcare costs. Earlier this week, the State System unilaterally increased healthcare costs and changed benefits for its managers.

“It is simply unacceptable for the State System to treat its faculty differently than other state employees,” Mash said. “We believe they wanted to sabotage our concessionary one-year offer with incendiary changes to our healthcare.

“We are a democratic organization, and we will go back to our members to see how they want us to proceed. It’s nothing short of absurd that amid an atmosphere of uncertainty, the System would act so provocatively toward its faculty.”

Without a contract, it becomes more difficult for faculty and coaches to provide a quality education for the more than 100,000 students enrolled in the commonwealth’s 14 publicly owned universities, Mash said.

The deal APSCUF offered in October was in line with the one negotiated between the governor and AFSCME. The System had reached similar agreements with its other unions. The offer included a one-year interim contract and a step increase effective in January. It also called for a continuation of monies for faculty research and for monthly reporting of membership data.

The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education has announced it will dramatically increase healthcare costs and cut benefits for its nonrepresented staff.

As the nation works toward extending health benefits to all citizens, it is outrageous that PASSHE would impose such a plan on any of its employees, said Dr. Kenneth M. Mash, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties.

APSCUF represents about 5,500 faculty and coaches at the State System universities.

State System officials have repeated that they are saving on healthcare as a result of their one-year deals with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the State College and University Professional Association. That claim is demonstrably untrue, Mash said.

“Today state system officials demonstrated how they are willing to treat staff who have devoted their lives to our universities,” Mash said. “Those employees have no means to stand up for themselves. It is a good day for our faculty and coaches to be glad they belong to APSCUF.”

Click here to read the State System’s release.

Click here to download an 8.5-by-11-inch PDF of this information.

One of the three Pennsylvania Supreme Court candidates APSCUF endorses has State System ties.

Judge Christine Donohue earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from East Stroudsburg University and credits her ESU education for her desire to go into law. If elected Nov. 3, she would be the first Pennsylvania Supreme Court judge with a degree from a state school.

Donohue grew up in Shamokin and is no stranger to hard work and family values. Her father and mother were a union-affiliated mine worker and seamstress, respectively, and she worked as a staff assistant to help pay for her East Stroudsburg education. She holds a juris doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law.

Donahue has represented the rights of Pennsylvanians, performed commercial litigation, and advocated for LGBT-equality. In 2007, she was elected to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, where she has decided more than 2,000 appeals and published 162 opinions.

For more information about Donohue, visit her website here.

Photo/donohueforjustice.com

As the budget impasse moves past the 100-day mark and several universities are poised to raise tuition substantially, the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF), which represents almost 6,000 faculty and coaches at the State System universities, offered a contract compromise to ensure stability for students and their families. 

APSCUF has informed Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education that the faculty will accept an agreement in line with that the one negotiated between the governor and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The State System has already reached similar agreements with its other unions. The details of the offer include a one-year interim contract and a step increase effective in January. APSCUF has also asked that the System provide updated financial information in a timely fashion. 

The contract compromise will help students deal with the uncertainty of tuition and the lack of state support. Last week the State System voted to significantly increase tuition at several universities.

“While this compromise does not begin to address our faculty members’ concerns, we believe it is most important to restore some stability for our universities while the General Assembly negotiates a budget,” APSCUF President Ken Mash said. “We all owe it to our students and their families to remove any concern about their faculty remaining in the classroom this academic year.”

APSCUF anticipates a quick and favorable response from the State System board.  In addition to the step increase, this offer calls on the System to continue to provide money for faculty research. 

The next round of negotiations between APSCUF and PASSHE is scheduled for Friday, November 6, following the System’s cancellation of a session on October 12.  APSCUF hopes to immediately begin negotiations on a new contract for the following year.

The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania.  

The details of the proposal can be found here.