PSU faces a serious structural budget problem, and the administration has repeatedly signaled that layoffs are on the table for our bargaining unit. The union’s bargaining team takes that reality seriously and has spent the last several months developing concrete alternatives that would reduce payroll in a planned way and minimize involuntary job loss.
Below is a brief overview of the retirement and FTE proposals we have put in front of the administration.
Voluntary FTE Reduction Program. A voluntary program allowing full-time instructional faculty to reduce their FTE—temporarily or permanently—within a structured framework and with modest incentives. The program is designed to give units and faculty a predictable way to reduce salary costs while maintaining instructional capacity, and to do so without triggering layoff or nonrenewal processes.
Retirement Incentive Offer (RIO). A proposed one-time, two-cohort RIO, with retirements effective July 1, 2026 and July 1, 2027. Option 1 is a cash incentive based on the familiar formula used in the 2012 and 2024 RIOs (1.5% of average 3‑year salary per year of qualifying PSU service, with a floor and cap). Option 2 is a “health bridge” subsidy, modeled on the 2012 program, providing up to 48 months of PEBB retiree medical subsidy for pre‑Medicare retirees, available on the same terms to all eligible participants as an alternative to cash.
Retirement Transition Program (RTP) with Phased FTE Reduction. AAUP and the administration are now working toward a consolidated Retirement Transition Program for AY 2025–26 through AY 2027–28, combining and updating the existing retirement transition options for TTFs, NTTFs, and APs with a new phased FTE reduction option. The union’s latest MOA counter would:
- Make the RTP available to AAUP-represented employees on indefinite/non-probationary appointments, with clear eligibility rules aligned with age and service thresholds.
- Offer two options: (1) a one‑year effort redistribution at 1.0 FTE, and (2) a phased FTE reduction over up to three years at 0.50 or 0.75 FTE leading to retirement, with proportional workload reductions and continued eligibility for full health benefits at ≥0.5 FTE.
- Provide stronger process protections (standard applications, written reasons for denial, an appeal to the Provost) and explicit layoff protection during the RTP period except in cases of true financial exigency under Article 22.
Why this matters now
Taken together, these proposals offer a coherent package of voluntary measures that:
- Create multiple off‑ramps for members who are ready to reduce workload or retire.
- Produce recurring salary savings in a planned way, rather than through abrupt layoffs.
- Protect members from involuntary loss of employment where there are viable alternatives.
While we are now seeing movement on a combined RTP/phased-retirement MOA, the administration has been slow to engage with the full package as an alternative to widespread layoffs, even as they continue to cite the structural deficit as justification for cutting positions. AAUP’s approach has been to put detailed, workable options on the table—grounded in past practice at PSU and other public institutions—and to show that there are ways to manage real fiscal stress without defaulting to involuntary cuts as the first and only tool.
In the coming weeks, we will circulate links to all of these proposals and invite members to help us push the administration to negotiate in this space. Your engagement—on campus, in public forums, and in direct communication with leadership—will be critical in making it clear that the PSU community expects serious consideration of alternatives to layoffs, and recognizes that our union is working hard to be part of a sustainable solution.