The faculty and academic professionals represented by Portland State’s largest faculty union voted to authorize a strike if a contract agreement is not reached with the university administration.
The strike vote, held among members of the PSU chapter of the American Association of University Professors, took place March 11 and 12 at PSU. According to a March 13 press release from PSU-AAUP, 94 percent of those voting voted in favor of a strike. PSU-AAUP has over 1,200 members.
While a strike date has not been set yet, faculty members can choose to strike any time after April 3 once a 30-day “cooling off” period has ended. This 30-day period follows a seven-day stretch of “final offer” negotiations—these, in turn, took place after the faculty union’s announcement of a bargaining impasse on Monday, Feb. 24.
After these 30 days have passed the administration can impose the contract of its choice. It is at this point that PSU-AAUP can choose to strike, though only after giving the administration 10 days’ notice.
According to the press release, both sides’ bargaining teams are scheduled to meet again this Friday, March 14.
According to an email sent to students by PSU President Wim Wiewel on March 7, “Spring term will open on schedule March 31, and registration for classes continues normally.”