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State system board to vote on contract for faculty March 20
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The State System of Higher Education's board of governors is scheduled to vote March 20 on a four-year labor contract that has been ratified by faculty.
The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties on Friday said members at Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities voted in favor of the contract earlier this week. The tentative pact is retroactive to July 1, 2011.
More than 95 percent of the faculty who voted supported the tentative agreement, the union said. Union officials declined to release how many of the 5,500 faculty voted.
"This is a balanced contract that preserves and maintains quality public higher education in the commonwealth," Steve Hicks, president of APSCUF, said in a news release.
In another news release, Gary Dent, the State System's vice chancellor for human resources and labor relations, said the system is "pleased" with the union's ratification.
APSCUF also represents about 600 coaches in a separate bargaining unit. A State System news release said the board of governors also will consider an agreement with athletic coaches that the union ratified earlier.
If the board approves the faculty contract, the longest faculty labor dispute in the State System's three-decade history will come to an end.
Officials have said the agreement mirrors contracts reached by the Corbett administration with other unions in the state.
About 115,000 students attend the 14 State System universities, including California, Clarion, Edinboro, Indiana and Slippery Rock.
First Published March 9, 2013 12:00 am
