Posts tagged Penn State
Should RAs be included in the Penn State graduate student union? University files appeal
January 27, 2026 // The Coalition of Graduate Employees at Penn State worked for years for the roughly 5,000 graduate students to vote in a union election. Graduate students previously tried to unionize in 2017-18 but were unsuccessful. Other unionization efforts have also been in the works at Penn State, including for faculty. In December the Penn State Faculty Alliance filed a petition to hold a union election for Penn State faculty. Teamsters Local 8, a labor union representing technical service workers at every Penn State campus, is also seeking to significantly expand its membership by organizing some university workers who currently fall outside of its scope.
Penn State Graduate Students Vote in Favor of Union
November 14, 2025 // University administrators have said that they believe graduate students are primarily students, and that the do not need a union to have their concerns heard.
Penn security guards’ union prepares strike authorization if new ‘fair’ contract is not reached
October 28, 2025 // On Monday, members of SEIU 32BJ plan to rally across Philadelphia — including at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center — culminating in a 3:30 p.m. press conference on Temple University’s main campus. The union wrote in an Oct. 26 press release that it was prepared to "authorize a strike” if a contract with “livable wages” is not negotiated “immediately.” Allied Universal — the world’s largest security contractor and the third largest private employer in North America — reported more than $20 billion in annual revenue last year.
Some Penn State faculty want to unionize as the university considers campus closures
March 11, 2025 // Unrest has been growing among some faculty as the university makes cuts to close a deficit by this summer. An attempt to hold a vote of no confidence in Penn State president Neeli Bendapudi was tabled at a faculty senate meeting last week. Also at that meeting. Bendapudi laid out plans to close some of the Commonwealth campuses. Just how many campuses is uncertain, but none will close before the end of the 2026-27 year. Twelve of the 20 campuses ― Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Shenango, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and York ― are under consideration for closure. They will be evaluated by a team led by several top administrators appointed by Bendapudi; she expects to make a decision before commencement in May.
Players at the CFP Championship Are Talking About Unionizing
January 22, 2025 // Several miles away, in a ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead, there was a different sort of event: About 50 current and former players came together for a two-day summit—called the “College Football Players-Only Meeting”—to discuss college athlete organizing efforts. It was the latest in a growing number of organizing efforts across the college sports landscape, and is believed to be the first of its kind to take place at the College Football Playoff. The event was hosted by an advocacy group called Athletes.org, founded by former INFLCR CEO Jim Cavale, which hopes to one day become the main college athlete players association.