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As contract negotiations drag on between the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties and the State System, we’re especially alert to faculty-union news from elsewhere in the U.S.

And there’s been a lot of it lately. At a lot of institutions.

In the commonwealth, there’s Duquesne University’s treatment of adjunct faculty members in its English department. The university last month laid off 10 of the department’s 11 part-time instructors. (APSCUF President Dr. Kenneth M. Mash sent a letter to Duquesne President Charles Dougherty urging him to rescind the firings and bargain fairly with Duquesne’s adjunct union.)

Meanwhile, University of Pittsburgh faculty members are in nascent stages of unionization.

In New Jersey, Rider University’s faculty union struck a deal that saved jobs and more than a dozen majors — in exchange for a wage freeze and other concessions.

Then there’s the City University of New York, where dozens of faculty members were arrested early this month as they demanded a salary increase. The educators have been working without a contract since 2010. Professional Staff Congress, the union that represents CUNY faculty and staff, continues negotiations this week.

On the opposite coast, more than 1,000 California Faculty Association members rallied Tuesday in support of increased wages. CFA voted in October to authorize a strike that could occur as early as January.

The list goes on — from Florida to Washington State, from Louisiana to Illinois.

For updates on APSCUF’s and other universities’ negotiation news, follow us on Twitter.

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