The Portland State chapter of the American Association of University Professors has declared an impasse in its ongoing salary dispute with the PSU administration, a move that puts full-time faculty one step closer to a potential strike. The PSU-AAUP Executive Council met with its collective bargaining team Thursday amid stalled negotiations to declare the impasse. Now, both the AAUP and the PSU administration have seven days to submit their final offers to a state mediator who will then make the offers public. After a 30-day “cooling off” period, the university can submit its final offer if no resolution is reached. The faculty would then have the right to strike.
AAUP declares impasse in contract negotiations
The Portland State chapter of the American Association of University Professors has declared an impasse in its ongoing salary dispute with the PSU administration, a move that puts full-time faculty one step closer to a potential strike.
The PSU-AAUP Executive Council met with its collective bargaining team Thursday amid stalled negotiations to declare the impasse. Now, both the AAUP and the PSU administration have seven days to submit their final offers to a state mediator who will then make the offers public. After a 30-day “cooling off” period, the university can submit its final offer if no resolution is reached. The faculty would then have the right to strike.
According to an AAUP press release, the main issues leading to the declaration are a lack of compensation and a high workload. The AAUP has been in mediation with the university since January and in collective bargaining since April 2007.
The release states that the current contract offer from PSU would not apply retroactively, and would result in half of AAUP members being compensated at levels below the cost of living in the Portland metropolitan area.
“There was overwhelming support for the declaration of impasse,” said Jonathan Uto, chief negotiator for the faculty, in the press release. “I’m not surprised, however.”
Continue to check www.dailyvanguard.com for updates, and look for a story on new developments in Tuesday’s print edition.
