By Leanne Serbulo, VP for Collective Bargaining
We came to the table today feeling optimistic about finding a solution to the workload problems our academic professional employees face. In our previous session, we worked-off of an option that the administration had crafted to address AP workloads and terms of employment. We had some very productive discussions about how the option met or failed to meet our interest. It felt like we were moving closer to some kind of resolution. So, our charge for this week was to revise this option based upon the discussions we had in our last session.
Our team brought a revised option to the table that was based upon the language the administration had presented during the previous week. Apparently, we were much too optimistic. We spent the session rehashing many of the same issues we had discussed in the previous one. Basically, we don’t have a shared understanding of what “full-time” employment means.
Both sides felt frustrated and exhausted by the end of the session. Our mediator assured us that in her experience, things getting heated at the table is often the sign of an impending breakthrough. I hope this is the case. Our team will spend the week trying to find a resolution to this issue.
Workload is a major issue for our members. From Admissions counselors who read three times the national average number of applications each year to our tenured Art faculty who teach twenty eight credits and still have high expectations for scholarship and service, to non-tenure track Music faculty who teach online classes with 150 students, workload is a serious problem at PSU, which many insist stands for Personal Sacrifice University.
We are constantly expected to do more with less. Because we live in a state that routinely disinvests in education, we understand that working at PSU involves some trade-offs. But does it have to mean you spend 50-60 hours a week for a wage that remains persistently in lowest percentile? Please join us this Thursday, January 21st from noon-1:30 in the Urban Center Gallery (2nd floor of the Urban Building) to hear Howard Bunsis, Chair of the National AAUP Collective Bargaining Congress and Professor of Accounting as he addresses: The Financial Situation at PSU. Do they have the money? Are they spending it the right way?