Overview
HappyValleyIndustry.com continues to track fast-moving changes in federal mandates, higher education funding challenges, and their potential impact on the Penn State region. Faculty unionization has become a major topic nationwide, with significant developments at universities in Pennsylvania and the Big Ten. Penn State remains the only state-related university in Pennsylvania without a faculty union.
The Penn State Faculty Alliance is currently leading efforts to unionize faculty across all 24 campuses. According to their website (pennstatefacultyalliance.org), the group is seeking to secure collective bargaining rights for approximately 7,600 faculty members, including both tenure-line and non-tenure-line instructors. The alliance has partnered with SEIU Local 668 https://www.seiu668.org/ to advance this effort. Requests for comment from “the alliance” have not been answered.
Recent Motivations Behind Unionization
Several factors have prompted faculty members to consider unionization:
- Healthcare Modifications: Recent changes to health care plans have raised concerns among faculty about their benefits and coverage.
- University Restructuring: Alterations in the university’s structure have led to uncertainties about job roles and departmental configurations.
- Budgetary Decisions and Buyouts: Financial strategies, including buyout offers and budget reallocations, have affected job security and resource availability.
- Campus Closures: The potential shuttering of certain satellite campuses has heightened job security concerns among faculty.
Faculty Unions in Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh (Pitt)
- Year of Unionization: Faculty union certified in 2021; first contract ratified in 2024.
- Impact on Budget: The contract introduced salary increases and extended benefits to part-time faculty for the first time. Some adjunct faculty saw pay increases of up to 100%, leading to higher instructional costs. The university adjusted its budget to accommodate these changes.
Temple University & Lincoln University
- Year of Unionization: Both universities have had faculty unions since the 1970s.
- Impact on Budget: Union contracts have led to structured salary increases and faculty benefits, with adjustments in budget priorities to accommodate higher instructional costs.
Faculty Unions in the Big Ten
Rutgers University
- Year of Unionization: Faculty have been unionized since the 1970s.
- Impact on Budget: Union agreements have resulted in improved pay, health insurance, and retirement benefits. Increased instructional costs required adjustments in administrative spending.
University of Michigan
- Year of Unionization: Non-tenure-line faculty unions have been active for decades.
- Impact on Budget: Unionization has led to structured salary increases and job security measures. The university reallocated funds to balance these costs.
University of Oregon
- Year of Unionization: Faculty unionized in the 1970s.
- Impact on Budget: Union contracts have established higher salaries and benefits, increasing instructional costs and prompting adjustments in budget allocation.
Faculty Trends at Penn State
Over the past two decades, Penn State has shifted toward employing more part-time faculty:
- 2000: 70% full-time faculty, 30% part-time faculty.
- 2024: 62% full-time faculty, 38% part-time faculty.
Current Faculty Composition University Park (2023-2024)
- Total Faculty: 4,838
- Full-time Faculty: 2,998
- 898 Professors
- 511 Associate Professors
- 492 Assistant Professors
- 962 Instructors
- 112 Lecturers
- 23 with no academic rank
- Part-time Faculty: 1,840
- Full-time Faculty: 2,998
- Total Employees at Penn State: 17,378 (including administration and staff).
- Student-to-Faculty Ratio at University Park: 15:1.
- The average salary for full-time faculty at Penn State University-Main Campus is approximately $113,027 for the academic year 2023-2024
https://www.univstats.com/staffs/pennsylvania-state-university-main-campus/#google_vignette
Unionization Outcomes at Other Universities
Post-unionization data from other institutions show varied effects on faculty numbers:
- At some universities, full-time faculty hiring increased after unionization as institutions moved away from reliance on adjuncts due to benefits be secured for part time faculty.
- In other cases, budget constraints resulted in reduced hiring or shifts in employment structure.
- Universities with new union contracts often reallocate administrative and operational funds to accommodate increased faculty compensation.
Graduate student employees at Penn State have been working toward unionization through the Coalition of Graduate Employees at Penn State – UAW (CGE-UAW). Their efforts began with organizing meetings, Q&A sessions, and signature collection campaigns throughout 2022 and 2023. In December 2024, CGE-UAW officially filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board to form a union, aiming to represent approximately 5,000 graduate workers.
This move follows a national trend, as over 45,000 graduate student employees at various universities unionized between 2022 and 2024. As of March 2025, a date for the union election at Penn State has not been set. The outcome of this effort will determine whether graduate student workers gain collective bargaining rights over wages, benefits, and working conditions.
For updates, CGE-UAW maintains a timeline of events at pennstategradworkers.org
Next Steps
The Penn State Faculty Alliance must collect authorization signatures from at least 30% of eligible faculty before petitioning for a union election through the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. If a majority votes in favor, faculty unionization at Penn State would become official.
No official response has been issued by Penn State administrators about the union effort.
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