The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) announced today the union will go on strike on Oct. 19 if it cannot agree on a contract with administrators from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE).

APSCUF President Kenneth Mash made the announcement Friday morning to journalists and on a live Facebook stream, which hundreds of people watched. The two sides plan to keep going back to the bargaining table, starting next week, but thus far no major agreement has been made, according to PASSHE and APSCUF press releases.

“Faculty offered a major healthcare concession, but the state system did not change their offer,” Mash said. “We will continue to go to the table in an earnest attempt to negotiate a fair deal. It is time for the state system to do the same.”

PASSHE Media Relations Manager Kenn Marshall said their proposal for $159 million in pay raises is a message that the state system is serious about negotiating a contract, according to a PASSHE press release.

“Even today, there is $159 million on the table for our faculty, if APSCUF will help us find a way to partially offset the costs,” Marshall said.

The salary raises are offset by the increased costs in new healthcare coverage the state system is proposing, said Debra Cornelius, a Shippensburg University professor who is spending the weekend in union meetings and workshops. She said the state system shows no sign of negotiating fairly, or in good faith.

“During last week’s negotiations, the state system not only refused to back off of their proposals that would hurt quality [of education], they actually went backwards,” she said. “In fact, they were so insulting to the faculty that we have filed an unfair labor practice with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board because of their failure to negotiate in good faith.”

PASSHE and APSCUF cannot afford to stop meeting, Marshall said in a press release. He said the two sides should be able to have a meaningful discussion to find a resolution.

APSCUF and the PASSHE administration will be forced to meet face-to-face for an agreement as talks of arbitration ended, according to an APSCUF press release. The union proposed that a binding arbitration, or a three-person council that represents each side and a mutual party, should be put in place to create a contract. PASSHE did not agree to do binding arbitration and non-binding fact-finding is no longer an option, according to the press release.

APSCUF leadership and delegate members are to spend the weekend in meetings and strike-training workshops, awaiting the next round of negotiations, the APSCUF press release stated.

“This is too important to our students,” Marshall said. “We need to continue talking.”

“Our fight right now is not about money,” Cornelius said. “It is about the quality of our students’ educations.”

Look for more in-depth stories on the negotiations in this week’s issue of The Slate.

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