On October 15th a majority of non-tenure track faculty will receive notice of layoff. Even non-tenure track faculty with continuous appointment who have served this University and our students for over 20 years, will be receiving these notices.
The Board of Trustees and President Cudd’s Administration have pushed $12.5MM in budget cuts to academic units for the next fiscal year. Instead of growing enrollment strategies, investing in faculty and students, and due to their own budget pessimism, Administration is putting NTTFs on notice that their positions will be terminated.
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This budget narrative is patently false, according to AAUP’s external budget analysis provided by Howard Bunsis, Professor of Accounting at Western Michigan University. His findings show that the University and Board’s budget is deeply affected by an over-accounting for the University’s pension, PERS, and OPEB obligations to the effect of over $140MM (page 7).
The Board of Trustees and Administration think they can cut their way to financial sustainability, all the while spending the majority of their advocacy efforts in Salem and in the city to advocate for building concrete and steel with dollars in the amount of $300MM to revitalize downtown with on-campus construction. Though it might not be evident to Board members who lack pedagogical backgrounds and have large downtown real estate portfolios, investments in concrete and steel are not investments in the workers who make the teaching and learning at this University a reality. Investments in concrete and steel are not investments in our students, who have worked so hard just to show up to PSU. Instead of knowledge serving the city, Administration wants buildings to serve the city.
The University claims these cuts are about curricular changes, and we have yet to see any particular proposals to OAA or Faculty Senate, with those being due from the Colleges on October 25th. Deans were given about six weeks to be thoughtful and strategic with “realignments” of their colleges – and five of these academic deans are brand new to campus.
How can Administration do this?
According to our contract, non-tenure track faculty with continuous appointment may be terminated for unsatisfactory post continuous appointment reviews, in the case of Financial exigency or serious distortion of budgets, or “Due to a change in curricular needs or programmatic requirements made in accordance with applicable shared governance procedures.” (Article 18, Section 2e4).
What does this notice of layoff mean?
In our contract NTTF must be given 60 days notice of layoff from their Department Chairs prior to an official termination notice. Sixty day notices are due to NTTF on October 15th (with official termination notices to go out on December 15), and MUST include:
“...a written justification for the decision and an explanation of the applicable shared governance procedures…” (Article 18, Section 2e4i)Even though our contract refers to a “decision,” Administration asserts that these decisions aren’t yet made.
Is this grievable?
These notices can be grievable if:
- Your notice does not cite the termination of your position “due to a change in curricular needs or program requirements.”
- Your notice does not explain the applicable shared governance procedures.
- Your notice arrives AFTER October 15th.
- Your notice is not shared by Administration to the Dean, Provost, and PSU-AAUP
READ YOUR NOTICE THOROUGHLY and email PSU-AAUP at aaup@psuaaup.net if you think there is anything potentially grievable in your letter.
I did not receive notice of layoff. Does this mean I cannot be terminated?
No. If you did not receive a notice of layoff on or before October 15th, you are still susceptible to layoff. Administration could use Article 22 of the contract that allows for layoff for serious budget distortion or financial exigency to eliminate your position.
How do we fight this?
You and your co-workers can fight back. This isn’t just about stopping NTTF cuts, it’s about all of us, our working conditions, and student learning conditions. Tenure-related faculty members, Academic Professionals, classified staff, and everyone who cares about our University and our work to teach and learn can fight these cuts.
- Thursday Oct 17th: Show up to bargaining in your PSU-AAUP t-shirts. RSVP here. The more of our 1,200 represented workers, students, families, and allies that show up, the more power we have to hold Administration accountable.
- This week:
- Recruit coworkers, students, and community allies to flood Cudd and Trustees with emails demanding a stop to the cuts.
- Pull your departmental coworkers together to discuss the status of bargaining and recruit them to attend the final 5 scheduled sessions before contract expiration with this departmental organizing how to.
- All 1,200 of us set our email signatures to: “Note, that due to short staffing resulting from the layoffs of NTTF colleagues, I will respond as soon as I am able.”
- Pack bargaining this Friday October 18th bargaining RSVP.
- Wear your PSU-AAUP t-shirt to the Oct. 16 Administrative Briefing, Wednesday, Oct. 16 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. ASRC 515
- Oct 23rd: Hear economist Mark Brenner’s presentation of the 2024 Bunsis report inside our Oct. 23rd general membership meeting in SMSU 327 at noon and discuss the next phase of our plan to turn up the heat on the administration In Person RSVP / Online RSVP.
- This month: help us elect City councilors who have pledged to hold the administration accountable.
- Nov. 4th: Bring your colleagues to Faculty Senate in PSU-AAUP t-shirts.
- Nov. 11th: 150 days of bargaining and the ability to escalate further.
- Nov. 30th: contract expiration and the ability to escalate further.