More than 95% of the Portland State University chapter of the American Association of University Professors (PSU-AAUP) voted recently to ratify a new contract with the university, following a tense 10-month negotiation period.
The contract was approved by over 70% of the union’s 1,172 members who participated in the vote. David Kinsella, the PSU-AAUP vice president for collective bargaining, expressed relief at the outcome, indicating that the negotiations were more contentious than in past rounds.
“We’re certainly happy,” Kinsella remarked. “It was a long, arduous, and often contentious negotiating round, more so than in recent past rounds. So we’re all a bit relieved, but it’s a good contract.”
The negotiations reached an impasse over two critical issues—cost-of-living adjustments for the first year of the contract and layoff protections for faculty. Ultimately, the union and the university reached agreements on both fronts.
The new contract stipulates a 5% cost-of-living adjustment on the initial $75,000 of faculty pay, a 1.5% adjustment on the next $25,000, and a 0.5% adjustment on the next $50,000, with guaranteed adjustments extending beyond the first year at varying rates.
In terms of layoff protections, the contract offers nontenure-track faculty and academic professionals longer layoff notices, a measure designed to give affected faculty time to find alternative employment or to allow the university to seek alternative appointments for them.
Kinsella emphasized the importance of these protections, stating, “Academic jobs are hard to get, and to lose one can be pretty devastating. To have a longer period of time to figure out how to land on your feet is a good thing.”
However, despite the positive developments in securing the contract, Kinsella and other union leaders raised concerns regarding PSU’s decision to lay off 17 nontenure-track faculty members. Just days after the tentative contract was agreed upon, union members discovered that PSU’s projected budget deficit for the year was $3.1 million less than previously forecast.
Kinsella pointed out that the cost savings from the layoffs amounted to $2.2 million, raising questions about the rationale behind the cuts. The PSU-AAUP is advocating for the university to redirect its budget reserves to rehire some of those faculty members.
“To see the budget deficit forecast reduced by more than the annual savings of the laid-off faculty was a bit of a disappointment,” Kinsella noted.
PSU spokeswoman Katy Swordfisk responded to these concerns, stating that the university anticipates receiving more funds than previously predicted, attributing this to “stronger-than-expected investment earnings” amid fluctuating market conditions.
Despite this positive outlook, Swordfisk mentioned that the university is still grappling with a $14.9 million deficit this year due to decreasing state revenue linked to declining enrollment.
Next year, she indicated, PSU will operate at a $13 million loss, which is compounded by the layoffs of the 17 faculty. She further explained that while these layoffs are expected to generate savings, they do not affect the current financials since those laid off remain under contract through June 15.
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