The PSU-AAUP bargaining team has wrapped up a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that reflects a big bargaining win for all faculty and APs: an expansion of the staff fee privilege! You should have already received an invitation to vote on this MOA in your PSU email inbox. The vote closes on August 18th, so be sure to vote today if you haven’t already.
What’s the Expansion?
The staff fee privilege is a discount that allows faculty and APs to take courses at participating public universities in Oregon.
Faculty and APs have been able to use this benefit for themselves or for one dependent at a time. This new expansion bargained by PSU-AAUP would allow faculty and APs to enroll a second eligible dependent for undergraduate education at Portland State. This means, for example, that a faculty member or AP could use the discount for two eligible dependents at the same time, provided one of those dependents is enrolled in undergraduate education at Portland State.
Click here to see the MOU language as submitted to voting members of PSU-AAUP.
We all know all know how costly it is to pursue higher education. In fact, many faculty and APs carry student loan debt many years after graduation. This benefit expansion can provide huge cost savings for faculty, APs, and their families.
Because the Fall 2022 term is right around the corner, the PSU-AAUP bargaining team felt it was important to enact this MOA now rather than wait until the end of this bargaining round.
Helping PSU employees beyond Faculty and APs
While benefits negotiated by the PSU-AAUP bargaining team apply only to PSU-AAUP-represented faculty and APs, we expect the Administration will extend this staff fee privilege expansion to all PSU employees. This is just one example of how union strength supports the health and welfare of the entire community.
Remember - this MOA must be ratified by the PSU-AAUP union membership. Vote today!
If you did not receive (or can’t find) that invitation to vote, contact the PSU-AAUP office at aaup@psuaaup.net.