Faculty strike at 14 Pennsylvania colleges looming
Students at 14 state universities across Pennsylvania are unsure whether they will have class tomorrow.
The State System of Higher Education and the state-wide faculty union have been embroiled in a heated contract dispute since their last contract expired in July 2015, reports The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The union has threatened to go on a statewide strike tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 19, if progress towards an agreement is not made by 5 a.m. tomorrow morning.
The main points of contention, according to the Post-Gazette, include compensation, the cost of health insurance and the state’s intention to increase the number of courses that temporary faculty must teach in order to be considered full time. State System hopes to save $70 million with this new contract, while the union asserts that these changes would damage the quality of education in the state.
Meanwhile, students are unsure whether or not to show up to class tomorrow.
"Some teachers have told us that 'I'm not going to go, so I don't expect you to go,'" Slippery Rock freshman Isaac Gillette told the Post-Gazette. "But we also hear rumors that there are going to be people taking attendance. I don't know yet. Do I go or not go?"
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