Faculty members at 14 Pennsylvania state universities
have opted against going on strike this school year, despite frustrations over
ongoing contract negotiations, the union representing them announced Saturday.
If there is no progress at the bargaining table, members
could take a strike authorization vote either over the summer or in September,
the Association of Pennsylvania State Colleges and University Faculties
(APSCUF) said in a statement.
"In the end, my colleagues believed that a strike at
the very end of the semester would unfairly burden students and their
families," the union's president, Kenneth M. Mash, said in the release.
The 5,500 employees have been working under an expired
contract since June 30.
Kenn Marshall, spokesman for the Pennsylvania state
system, said the system has offered the union a one-year extension that would
include a 2.5 percent pay increase but also raise health insurance co-pays and
establish deductibles that were not in the last plan. Marshall said a union
representing other employees in the state system recently accepted the same
offer.
"We're committed to reaching a settlement with
APSCUF that is fair, just as we have with our other unions," he said.
The union represents faculty and coaches at the following
state schools: Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg,
Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg,
Slippery Rock, and West Chester.
The next negotiation session is scheduled for April 28.
Source: Philly.com
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