Part-time faculty settle pay dispute

PSU’s part-time faculty union reached an agreement with the university Friday regarding professor pay, after nine months of salary negotiations and almost a month of mediation.

According to a university statement, the part-time faculty union agreed on a tentative salary increase of five percent for the 2007-2008 academic year and another five percent increase for 2008-2009.

Disagreements over pay came to a head at the end of January when the Portland State chapter of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 3571, called the PSU Faculty Association, announced they would seek mediation over what leaders said was a stressful and negative collective bargaining process between AFT and PSU. Meditation is one of the steps necessary before faculty can strike.

On Feb. 14, part-time faculty and supporters picketed on campus in support of higher wages.

PSU’s chief negotiator and Vice Provost for Academic Administration & Planning, Carol Mack, was quoted in the university statement saying that the agreement is a “fair and equitable settlement for part-time faculty and the university.” The statement also says that the “PSU administration is happy to provide AFT members with an increased salary that compensates them for their hard work and dedication.”

Because of Neuberger Hall’s unexpected shutdown yesterday over a bomb threat, the Vanguard was unable to get a comment from PSU AFT leaders.