Advisors: Update on Advisor Redesign Implementation Bargaining

The AAUP negotiating team met with administration about the advising redesign implementation on Tuesday May 09, 2017. Administrators present were Sukhwant Jhai, Carla Harcleroad, Shelly Chabon, and Cindy Starke.

We shared that we met with the advisors on April 21, and that that meeting provided a forum for advisors to express their concerns, ask questions, and to react to the questions PSU-AAUP had about the milestones from the Advising Redesign Implementation Plan (Academic Advising Council report to the Faculty Senate), and the PSU-AAUP Demand to Bargain.

All the input we received from advisors from that meeting and the emails that followed was consolidated into one document. PSU-AAUP submitted the formal Request for Information at bargaining. We asserted that the answers to these questions would help address the anxiety expressed by advisors, enable PSU-AAUP to determine what in the plan would be subject to bargaining with AAUP, and would provide much needed detail to a plan that does not go far enough to give us a clear picture of how this will roll out.

They cited and encouraged the PSU-AAUP Negotiating team to review the Advising Redesign Report .They were surprised PSU-AAUP and the advisors had so many questions, but were open to answering them. They also stated they understood that advisors were clearly comfortable with expressing concerns through PSU-AAUP instead of directly, which was something that I think they hadn’t expected.

We talked about how we would proceed with the issues. PSU-AAUP proposed that from the beginning of the question-based inquiry approach that we should address the issues that required discussion through Interest Based Bargaining provided that we establish a realistic timeline for those proceedings, and that we have advisors at the table with us. Administration agreed to consider IBB after the information response is sent and PSU-AAUP has a chance to determine what is bargainable. The administrators expressed appreciation for our willingness to proceed with the inquiries, and then to problem solving through IBB.

Next Steps

1.  Administration has 30 days to respond to the information request.
2. The Negotiating team will caucus to determine how to receive and process the Information Request Response.
3. The Negotiating team needs 2 advisors to volunteer to participate in negotiations with the team.
4. Administration will reach out to the Employment Relations Board to get availability for Janet Gillman, the State Conciliator.

I think we all thought it was a productive meeting and that we have high likelihood of reaching an agreement that serves advisors needs.