I have read with interest the news on the pending strike at the state universities like Lock Haven, Bloomsburg and Slippery Rock. Faculty and coaches at the state universities (which do not include Penn State) have been working without a contract for 14 months and recently voted to strike in mid-October if the state and the union can’t come to an agreement on details of the contract.
With all of the employment legislation and safety regulations in place, unions in 2016 seem to serve a different need than they did in the days of their early formation. With that, I’ve never really understood the public sector unions.
When I think of unions, I think of the early 20th century coal mine workers. I think of private sector jobs in abhorrent working conditions or under abusive managements who either stepped on rights of their employees or for which there were no checks and balances. Historically, unions have entered private sector work sites where there were abusive or at least unfair practices and when people felt that they didn’t have any other options. The collective “we” could then gather against the owner or administration and threaten to work-stop and therefore impact the business mission or financial bottom line.
Since the days of those coal workers, there has been significant and powerful legislation enacted to prevent many of the abuses of the past or at least give an employee a method by which to file a claim. Union benefits and pensions as well as above-market salary demands helped put the final nail in the coffin for several industries.
In public sector unions, the negotiation is with some body of government – in other words, the taxpayers. In the instance with the state university unions, a faculty strike could have real and serious consequences for students and their plans for graduation. Like public school teachers and the police and other public service positions, where the government (AKA the people) are the opposition, a strike or walk out has the ability to impact the community versus a shutdown of a company that provides a product or service. It feels oddly circuitous to me; a union member is part of a group who is trying to negotiate salaries and benefits with the government to whom those members also taxes.
At issue with the state universities are fairly typical “strike threatening” union member concerns. For university faculty, it means wages, who pays how much into benefits, etc., but also teaching loads (e.g. how many courses a faculty member is assigned to each semester). Teaching loads can and do impact how much time a faculty member has to conduct and publish research as well as the amount of time they have to provide service both within the university community and within their respective professional fields.
In many of the comments that I have read both in articles about the strike and in online comments, advocating for the union side of this battle, as the faculty try to promote the good work that they do, I’ve seen “our classes aren’t taught by graduate students.” At least one specifically referenced Penn State’s use of graduate students to teach classes.
It always blows credibility in an argument when one side brings in someone or something unrelated to defend their position.
The differences between a state school and a Research I university like Penn State are numerous including size of the student body and the number of courses that are offered each semester, to say nothing of the quality and quantity of research that is generated at schools like Penn State, Temple and Pitt. The irony is that many of the faculty members at the state universities had their first teaching experience at research schools like Penn State – as graduate students – before they landed their jobs at the state university.
With that said, in most union settings, aren’t the professionals, managers and individuals higher up the organization chart considered exempt from union membership?
As an individual member of the teaching faculty at Penn State, I am non-tenured. I am at the bottom of the academic ranking system. My contract is up for renewal every year. My duties and salary are determined each year. My teaching load, any administrative duties I cover and my service to the university is outlined after conversations with my department chair and with approval from the Dean’s office.
My salary, any merit raise that I receive and even whether I am invited back each year are directly related to my individual performance and not that of the larger group of my peers.
Last week, I led a group of students to Hilton Head in a new course that I designed and for which students were immersed in hands on learning in resort recreation. We will finish the semester working on projects that they will deliver to our partners in the field. The support of those above me and the flexibility of my contract allowed me to be creative in delivering new educational opportunities. That extra load (for which I teased the kids last week is “totally optional”) might be limited by what a union contract would say. The flexibility part of my job outweighs the stability aspects although this year is my 24th year of signing a contract.
I don’t think I would make a good union member.
The politics and influence of public sector unions makes this all a bit murky. Public unions negotiate with the government (elected officials) and historically have had significant influence on which of those elected officials end up in office.
I think about that student in his or her last semester at one of the state universities. Will he or she be forced to come back to finish if the faculty go on strike or will some arrangement be made to “shorten” and therefore compromise the curriculum to make sure the student isn’t delayed?
I have several friends who teach in the state system and, at one point in my career, even considered applying for a position within that system. The money and the benefits are good. I ended up not going in that direction because it felt more restrictive than what I already had at Penn State. I hope my friends are able to negotiate an agreement that satisfies both sides without hurting the students who are trying to go to college, raising tuition or further restricting their academic creativity.
