Pa. state universities ratify labor contract with support professionals
HARRISBURG — The union that represents 700 financial aid directors, admissions officers and other support professionals at the 10 state universities has a new labor contract effective through June 2027.
The Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s governing board on Thursday ratified the agreement with the State College & University Professional Association (SCUPA) that provides a 2.5% step increase in each of its four years, along with a 4% retroactive general increase to this past fall, a 2% increase next fall, a 1% increase in the fall of 2025 and a 2% increase in the fall of 2026.
The 4% raise that took effect this past fall set the annual salary range for this union’s represented employees at $ 46,064 to $109,243.
The agreement also adds Juneteenth as a major holiday, increases by two the number of sick leave days and the number of bereavement days for the death of a sibling, ratchets up the biweekly employer contribution for health benefits, and makes contract language changes to the tuition waiver for same-sex domestic partners.
Todd Spaulding, the union’s vice president and chief negotiator, called the board’s contract ratification, which was approved by a unanimous vote, “a good day for students, for
SCUPA and for the PASSHE system.”
He said the members of the union influence “every aspect of our campuses on a daily basis. We are small but mighty group. We get the job done.”
Meanwhile, negotiators continue to work hammering out the language of the tentative four-year agreement reached last month with the union representing 5,500 faculty members.
“There are some really very important things that occurred in this agreementin-principle that are going to come back and reflect well on us as a system,” said Ken Mash, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties while addressing the system board.
He shared areas of disagreement, particularly surrounding the issue of job security.
In other action, some student employees who work jobs at the 10 state universities would be exempted from the system’s criminal background check policy.
The system’s governing board on Thursday approved the policy change that carves out student employees who have no direct contact and/or routine contact with minors during the course of their work.
Randy Goin, the system’s deputy chancellor, said the criminal background clearance requirement was hurting students on work study who depended on those jobs as part of their financial aid package to help cover their tuition.
“We might have a student who is working for one semester, stocking books at bookstores or working in a dining hall,” Mr. Goin said. “If their background checks take two to three months to be finished, they could very well miss a half semester of work study, a half semester of financial aid potentially derailing their progress.”
The system’s policy had required background checks for all employees and official volunteers while the state law puts that requirement only on employees who have direct contact with minors. Mr. Goin said that presented a challenge for some student employees who don’t have contact with minors.
The policy was put in place in response to a 2014 state law that was among those enacted in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal to bolster child protection in Pennsylvania. It was tweaked in 2015 to narrow the universe of individuals who had to get background clearances to only those who worked around children.
But the state system officials said the broad policy erred on the side of caution to protect minors who are on its campuses for sports and academic camps, campus visits, and classes. It made background checks a requirement with disciplinary action taken against those who failed to get one. The faculty union felt that was an overreach but was unsuccessful in a court battle to get the policy reversed.