Yes! We have a contract!

Today was a happy day for faculty in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). After five days of difficult negotiations, the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculty (APSCUF), our faculty union, has achieved a tentative collective bargaining agreement for the next four years.Our union was ready to call a strike, as our current contract ended June 30. Many were concerned that there wouldn’t be a second summer session this year. But a last-minute request from the state mediator to extend the talks gave the negotiating teams another chance to iron out their differences. I haven’t seen the contract language yet, but the basic terms seem to be fair. Hopefully, the faculty will have regained at least some of the ground lost in the last contract.I anticipate that while some faculty may raise questions about specific issues, the tentative contract will likely be approved, and we can move on to do what we like to do…teach students and pursue our scholarship.

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