Faculty union leaders (14 state-owned universities) endorse contract offer

[Omaha Steve]

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Faculty union leaders endorse contract offer

Professors and coaches at the 14 state-owned universities will vote this week on a four-year labor contract proposal that won the blessing of a group of faculty union leaders Friday.

Members of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties's legislative assembly voted 61-43 to recommend the 5,500 professors ratify the contract agreement, said union spokesman Kevin Kodish. The two-day gathering in Monroeville involved union representatives from all 14 universities, which enroll about 110,000 students.

Faculty will vote on their campuses over a four-day period starting Monday. The votes will be counted Oct. 9, Kodish said. If the faculty votes to ratify the agreement, the governing board of the State System of Higher Education is expected to vote on the deal at its Oct. 11 meeting.

The contract would provide annual bonuses or raises that will boost salaries to between $44,795 to $110,567 by the contract's final year, according to State System officials. Last year, that range was $43,848 to $91,148.

It includes a provision that would allow the employee cost of health benefits to remain at last year's contribution rate of 10 percent of the premium for the first three years, before rising to 15 percent in the final year.

The legislative assembly's recommendation to ratify was not a certainty going into the meeting, since the union's seven-member executive council in July voted to recommend rejection.

FULL story at link.