The Cranberry Eagle
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 Article published November 7, 2012

SRU profs to vote on strike

Staff
Cranberry Eagle

HARRISBURG — The union representing thousands of professors and coaches at Pennsylvania’s 14 State System of Higher Education universities, which includes Slippery Rock University, will hold a strike authorization vote in a week.
The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties said Friday it has scheduled the votes for Nov. 12, 13 and 14. Individual chapters at the 14 universities will decide what day and time the votes will take place.
A committee will meet Nov. 16 in Harrisburg to count ballots and announce the result of the vote.
If the individual chapters vote to strike, APSCUF negotiators may call a strike on short notice.
APSCUF’s contract expired June 30, 2011, along with the contracts for the other six unions in the state system. APSCUF is the only union that has not settled its contract with the state system.
APSCUF and the state system cannot agree on issues such as health care costs and the use of temporary faculty. The union offered binding arbitration to settle the dispute in September, and the system rejected that in October.
The union committee voted Oct. 20 to authorize a strike, which allowed the chapters at individual schools to vote. There has never been a faculty strike at state system schools.
The union represents more than 6,000 faculty, including about 475 at SRU.