Frequently Asked Questions
Updated: April 7, 2026
Find the answers in our comprehensive FAQ pdf (4/7/2026) and down below.
Table of Contents
What has happened so far?
- The first, continual, and most critical step has been talking with our colleagues. Nothing replaces or is more important than having organizing conversations. Through these conversations, we identify key issues we want addressed and continue to build support and solidarity among faculty.
- On December 9th, 2025 we turned in thousands of union authorization cards to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board's office in Harrisburg, along with a petition to hold a union election for Penn State faculty.
- On March 19th, 2026 the PA Labor Relations Board announced that ballots would be mailed to faculty home addresses from the PLRB on April 1, 2026, and must be returned by mail by Wednesday, May 6th, 2026.
- On May 14th, 2026 we won our faculty union election with a clear mandate for change!
How does the union work?
What is a faculty union?
A faculty union is a group of faculty who come together to improve their working conditions. With a union, we will collectively bargain a contract and gain real power in decisions that affect our working conditions, research, and our students' learning conditions. When we successfully establish a union, the university will be legally required to bargain with us. Without a union, the administration is not required to negotiate with any existing faculty body on labor issues such as compensation, workload, and benefits.
What have faculty unions achieved?
Faculty at other universities have won improved compensation and healthcare benefits, better job security with paths to promotion, increased training and professional development support, and a variety of roles in shared decision-making and transparency of university practices. For a very recent example addressing all of these issues, please see the University of Pittsburgh's newly ratified first contract.
How do I join?
You can sign a digital membership card here.
Who is in the bargaining unit?
Our bargaining unit includes all non-managerial faculty at the University Park campus, in the University Libraries, and at the Commonwealth Campuses. It does not include the College of Medicine, but we would support these faculty in organizing in the future.
What if I was left off the eligible voter/bargaining unit list by the administration?
The administration decided to leave a sizable group of faculty off the voter list due to what we consider an overly expansive definition of “supervisor.” They have excluded from the voter list any faculty who would otherwise be included if they have postdocs, staff, or other faculty underneath them in the Penn State organizational chart.
As PSFA, we did not, and do not agree with this definition of supervisor. Moreover, we don’t believe it has legal validity. It is not how Pitt, Temple, or the PASSHE schools define a supervisor, and there is no case law that supports their argument. The PLRB will rule on this issue, and we are committed to fighting to keep the faculty united at Penn State in one union.
How much are dues?
Dues are set at 1.39%. Penn State faculty will not pay dues until our union membership ratifies a contract that includes our wages, benefits, and issues related to research, teaching, and service. Dues cover the cost of building a strong organization that fights for faculty needs, including staff and legal support, office space, and negotiating and enforcing a collective bargaining agreement, which we vote to approve.
What is SEIU's role?
Over 54,000 faculty members spanning sixty campuses nationwide have unionized with SEIU. SEIU Local 668 is a strong, democratically run union that represents 20,000 professional employees across the Commonwealth, in all 67 counties, and has staff located throughout the state. SEIU Local 668 works within a robust ecosystem of other unions across the Commonwealth. Moreover, 668 has a significant presence in Harrisburg, and we look forward to collaborating with our administration to increase state funding for higher education.
How does this affect faculty governance?
Negotiating our contract is how we can win real shared governance at Penn State. At present, we are constantly reminded that our faculty senate only has the power to address curricular issues, and the faculty senate will continue to have that power. In turn, we will address labor-related issues through our union. At many universities, the faculty senate and faculty union leadership work collaboratively to ensure faculty shared governance. We intend to do the same here.
What happens next?
How soon might we see changes?
We hope to see positive changes soon through a legally binding contract, which typically takes approximately one year to negotiate. In the meantime, it will be illegal for Penn State to unilaterally decrease any of our wages, benefits, or working conditions during that process. Our goal is to move quickly through the bargaining process, and we hope the Penn State administration will do the same.
Who determines what the union proposes?
We, as Penn State University faculty, are the union, so we determine our proposals through democratic and transparent decision-making processes. These processes will involve input from faculty through a bargaining survey, membership meetings, research, and potentially issue-specific committees that develop proposals for bargaining. We will also elect our own bargaining committee and work with a professional negotiator from SEIU in order to have the most leverage and experience during negotiations.
What happens if I don’t like what the union negotiates?
In our union, we will have a thorough, democratic process that encourages faculty participation. You can vote either yes or no in our contract ratification vote if you don’t like what we negotiate as a union. You can also join the bargaining committee or get involved as a college or department-level union leader.
Could our faculty union go on strike?
To strike, all of the faculty at Penn State would have to vote overwhelmingly to do so. It's fair to say that we would only vote to do so if it were absolutely necessary to win positive change for our students, our research, and our working conditions.