Teamsters rally at Penn State over contractual dispute, concern over future layoffs
Jef Nelson, a Penn State employee for 30 years, doesn’t want to collect unemployment. He doesn’t want to sit at home. He just wants to work.
But like most members of Teamsters Local 8 — a union that represents nearly 3,000 Penn State workers in hospitality, maintenance, landscaping and various other support roles — Nelson still isn’t sure what comes next. Despite his desire to work, he’s worried his biggest fear of permanently losing his job could be just a month away.
“I’m stressed out; I’m not going to lie,” said Nelson, 49, who works in Media and Technology Services. “We make this campus go. Without us, this campus doesn’t look like this.”
About a dozen Teamsters, along with several local government officials, gathered on the north side of the HUB-Robeson Center on Wednesday afternoon to promote awareness of contractual agreements that, they say, Penn State is defying at the University Park and the commonwealth campuses. (The union said it purposely kept the gathering small and did not inform its members to avoid a large group during the pandemic.)
Of the 2,700 members in the Penn State union, about two-thirds — 1,800 employees — were temporarily laid off May 4 and given half-pay through June 30, with the understanding that unemployment could cover the other half. About 200 of those employees were called back to work, but most like Nelson are still wondering aloud when — or if — they’ll be able to return. In the meantime, the Teamsters filed a grievance and alleged that contractors have been doing work that they could otherwise do.
Local union President Jon Light acknowledged members can’t perform all the specialty work of contractors. But he pointed to plumbing and painting they can do that’s been done by non-union workers. Nelson said he even spotted two kiosks newly painted and steam-washed by contractors, something else those currently sitting at home and collecting half a paycheck could do.
“We’d rather be working and making a paycheck than being on the unemployment line,” Light said, adding the contract stipulation that outlines Penn State can’t replace employees with contractors has been in place in some form for nearly a half-century.
For its part, the university issued a written statement Wednesday afternoon and said it has broken no such contract language.
“Penn State’s contract with Teamsters Local 8 expressly allows the use of contractors for certain projects,” spokesperson Wyatt DuBois said in an email. “The current ongoing projects were contracted by the university through competitive bid prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Union members were not working or expected to work on these projects prior to the COVID-19 crisis. They were approved consistent with our union agreement.”
County commissioner Mike Pipe and Tor Michaels, a spokesperson for state Rep. Scott Conklin (D-Rush Township), were both on-hand Wednesday in support of the union. Pipe told the Centre Daily Times he would like both sides to come to the table and for the university to bargain in good faith; Michaels told the limited crowd, “We stand ready to do all we can to get you back to work and remain union strong.”
Centre County, home to Penn State’s main campus, is among the 18 counties poised Friday to move into the “green phase,” the least-restrictive phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopening plan. That would open bars, gyms and hair salons — but, for many Penn State employees in the union, the move changes nothing. At least not yet.
Several employees told the CDT they’ve reached out to their supervisors ahead of Friday, only to hear nothing back. But Nelson believes he could safely return to work. Mike Zeigler, a 20-year employee, feels the same way.
Zeigler works near the University Park Airport at the Larson Transportation Institute, where he test-drives vehicles and works on maintenance around the 20-acre patch of land. Out there, he laughed, social-distancing isn’t much of a problem. And he’d much prefer working right now.
“Honestly, it’s a pride thing for me,” said Zeigler, 65. “I haven’t signed up for unemployment in over 40 years. ... I’d sleep a lot better if I knew I was going back to work.”
When asked why such university employees aren’t yet returning to daily operations, Penn State simply said it’s working toward returning its workforce consistent with Wolf’s plan.
“This process will take time, and start slowly,” DuBois wrote. “Right now, there are more than 1,000 Teamsters-represented employees who are actively working at Penn State’s campuses.
“We hope of course to return to more normal on-campus operations as soon as this is possible, and are working hard to do that, consistent with public health and government safety directives. We understand the challenges faced by union and non-union employees who do not currently have jobs they are able to do because of COVID-19, and continue to support them, as previously announced.”
In parts of March and April alone, according to university President Eric Barron on April 23, the university had already suffered about a $100 million loss in revenue due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Barron said at the time there would be no layoffs through June 30, the end of the fiscal year, but offered no guarantees after that.
And that’s what Teamsters Local 8 is worried about, just a week after ratifying a one-year contract. Add in contractors currently doing work that union members believe they could be doing, and the word “expendable” was tossed around often Wednesday afternoon in front of the HUB.
“Here’s the fear: We’re down to 50% (pay) now. By the end of June, we’ll be down to zero,” Zeigler said. “And I’d just like to get back to work.”
Barron previously said the university is operating as if it will be open in the fall, but a final decision will not come until June 15. If the university is closed for the fall semester, many involved in Teamsters Local 8 could be on the chopping block. But, even if the university remains open for the fall, there are no guarantees that every union job will return.
The union vowed Wednesday that it was prepared to escalate its grievance.
“There’s no safety issue here; this is a political issue for us right now,” said William Hamilton, the Eastern Regional International Vice President. “We’re going to take our fight to Harrisburg and, believe me, if Penn State doesn’t listen, we’ll be in Harrisburg on the steps of the capitol.”
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 5:46 PM.
