Penn State reaches tentative deal with union days after Teamsters OK strike

Union members will vote in the coming weeks on a tentative contract agreement with management covering 2,500 employees on Penn State University branches statewide and the main University Park campus.

The deal, if ratified, could offer a measure of labor peace at a time of heightened workplace anxiety across Penn State generally, and its branches in particular, over university-wide budget cuts and a 10% faculty and staff reduction through buyouts this spring on those branches, where enrollment has fallen sharply since 2010.

Teamsters Local 8 represents employees in custodial service, emergency medical response, food service, housing service, trades, science, athletics, agriculture, research, printing, engineering, transportation, airport services, information technology and media.

Its members on Wednesday had authorized leaders to call a strike if necessary.

The previous contract with Teamsters Local 8 was due to expire Sunday. The union announced the tentative four-year contract on social media Saturday night.

“The new deal includes 20% wage increases (21.79% compounded) over the life of the contract. More details will be shared during the forthcoming ratification meetings,” it read. “This effort was only made possible by the nearly 1,900 members who authorized strike action and showed the University that WE WERE READY!”

The contract would run through June 30, 2028, and will be retroactive to Monday.

Jonathan Light, president of Teamsters Local 8, could not immediately be reached Monday for additional comment on the agreement.

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi welcomed the tentative pact, and in a statement, said pay raises included are comparable to deals recently reached by Penn State with Service Employees International Union Local 668 and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 13.

“These are the employees who keep Penn State operational,” said Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer. “They maintain our facilities and grounds, provide food and services for our students, and clear the snow and ice during weather emergencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they were essential workers, serving on the front lines while the rest of the university was working remotely ….”

The branches statewide covered by the tentative agreement include Penn State New Kensington, Greater Allegheny, Beaver, Fayette and Shenango in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Collectively, most of the branches have faced enrollment losses between 16% and 50% the last 10 years, officials said. They were expected to bear the brunt of $94 million in cuts announced in January to further reduce a university-wide deficit that at one point was $140 million.

Leadership on a number of those branches, which Penn State calls its Commonwealth system, is also being restructured. Multiple campuses will report to one chancellor under those changes.

On Wednesday, 91% of the 2,053 Teamsters who cast ballots on the strike authorization measure voted to approve it, said Light.