AAUP Grievance regarding SHAC Closure

This past winter 2013 SHAC leadership decided to close SHAC and force AAUP members to use vacation or unpaid leave December 24-27. This is the first time a unit of PSU made the decision to close independent of the University Closure policy. PSU-AAUP determined that the unilateral action violated both the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Act as the matter required bargaining with AAUP, and it violated Article 8- Past Practices of the Contract. PSU-AAUP filed a grievance, issued a demand to bargain, and filed a parallel Unfair Practice Charge (which we put in abeyance pending the outcome of the grievance). We have since entered settlement talks with PSU attorneys. We hope to reach an agreement that clarifies whether individual units can close independent of the University Closure policy, and that could return the vacation days that were taken from SHAC employees who would otherwise not have chosen to use them at that time.