What always gets me about these messy negotiations that end up public is this:
State System spokesman Kenn Marshall said they are disappointed the union decided to strike, because they felt they made significant progress toward a settlement overnight.
[…]
The last faculty contract expired June 30, 2015.
Fifteen months and the sense of urgency finally kicked in now?
Apscuf member here. The chancellor was brought in to break the union–he is a Bush guy from Florida. I have so much to say about the particulars of the bogus negotiations that went on over the last two years, but it may be enough to know that about him. The article above leaves a lot out, but it does at least make clear that the State System walked away from the table. They want a strike.
And I keep seeing this info about the state’s healthcare offer being identical to other state employee packages, yet also heard reports of significant increases in costs to be paid for by the faculty. I’ve seen the system use the term “similar” but news articles say “identical”.
It would also be nice if the AP article mentioned that the chancellor is the HIGHEST paid state employee in PA.
I’m also still trying to figure out the state’s end-game here. Why would they want a strike? Trying for bad optics for the faculty? To force a crappy contract on them?
On the plus side, the students seem VERY supportive as many picketers report students bringing them coffee and donuts on the line.
The state system had not been negotiating in good faith. Apparently, some months back, after a lot of negotiations, agreements were made and then the state came back with a proposal that ignored all the progress, concessions and agreements that negotiators had spent months working on.