Faculty on Strike at Public Universities and Colleges in Pennsylvania
Faculty at 14 public institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania are on strike owing to a failure in contract negotiations. According to Inside Higher Ed, the faculty had been working without a contract in place for 477 days.
Negotiations were stuck mainly on issues concerning pay and health benefits. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that there are approximately 110,000 students across the fourteen campuses, which remain open. The striking union has over 5,000 professors and coaches, according to The New York Times. “It’s not clear how many faculty members are participating in the strike, but many students reported on social media that their classes were not being taught,” reports IHE.
Philosophy faculty and students affected by the strike are encouraged to share relevant information here in the comments.
I’m a graduate assistant at a PASSHE school. While I don’t know all of the details, I know that APSCUF offered compensation and benefits concessions. Other areas of disagreement include pressure from the State System to hire more adjuncts at less pay and a push toward more online classes.
PASSHE philosophy temp here: we’ve heard today that an understanding has been reached and we will be back in class on Monday.