Haven’t Had a Chance to Read PSUFA’s Bargaining Recaps? Need some help understanding the jargon?
Here’s the tl;dr of the contract expiration issues.
Background: It’s common for a union contract to expire while negotiations continue for the next contract. Typically, the provisions of a contract remain in place during this hiatus period – the law dictates this, plus it's quite a low bar for decent employers. This is referred to as “status quo.” Additionally, status quo has been typical practice at PSU–both in prior negotiations with PSUFA, and recently with the full-time faculty union, PSU AAUP.
PSU’s Scheme: Despite this precedent, PSU began immediately not honoring the 2021–2025 PSUFA contract when it expired on June 30, by not paying out benefits funds, and not allowing the union to file grievances. Then:
PSU tried to tie the release of these PAST benefits funds to PSUFA agreeing to a shoddy FUTURE contract.
When that didn’t work, PSU offered an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that would take the funds out of a future budget, reducing the future funds, and wouldn’t even address the broader issue of the contract expiration.
Your Bargaining Team realizes this all might be a tad confusing if you are not deeply familiar with the progression of bargaining, so they have created a graphic annotating the proposed MOU.
PSUFA’s Response: Since then, PSUFA has been battling with PSU to release these funds, making both a legal and moral case by:
Offering an MOU for a contract extension, and more recently, a more narrow MOU just to get benefits funds released. PSU has signed neither.
Organizing a virtual March on the Boss campaign for adjuncts like you to share the impact of PSU’s decision on individual workers with PSU administrators by email.
Filing an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) against PSU, alleging that PSU has violated labor law by not honoring your expired contract. The hearing has been expedited, given its seriousness. (This ULP is a second ULP in addition to the previous ULP regarding membership data filed in Winter Term, and for which there was a hearing held on 9/9.)
The ULP hearing regarding the contract expiration and distribution of benefits is this coming Monday 9/15. Monday’s hearing will mark 45 days since adjuncts in financial crisis expected their Faculty Assistance funds, and 75 days since adjuncts who received Professional Development funds expected theirs.
And now you’re caught up on the latest negotiations. Your Bargaining Team and Executive Council are in continuous conversation on strategy to achieve the best outcome for members and will continue to share updates as they develop. Your union is run on the rank-and-file participation of members like you. If you are interested in learning how to participate in growing your union’s strength, you are strongly encouraged to reach out to your Membership Chair. We are stronger together!