Penn State union workers demand job protections as commonwealth campus closures loom
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Penn State presented a November proposal affecting technical workers at seven campuses.
- Union members overwhelmingly rejected the proposal.
- The proposal allows expanded use of lower-cost labor and requires signing separation.
As Penn State prepares for seven of its commonwealth campuses to close, the university’s technical service union is demanding protections for employees.
After the university announced it would close seven campuses by the end of the spring 2027 semester, the Teamsters Local 8 union that represents more than 2,000 technical workers across the commonwealth began negotiating with the university in July 2025 over job placement protections.
A proposal was presented to the union in November, according to local union President Jon Light, but the 59 members at the affected campuses overwhelmingly voted to reject it. The proposal, Light said, would allow the university to lay off union members at any time, replace them with part-time or contract labor and keep the affected campuses open without union workers.
After months of negotiations, Light said the university is backtracking on promises they made at the beginning of their discussions with the union.
“I sat in on one of the meetings and heard executives say they wanted to find placements for workers — whether they wanted to continue working or retire,” he said. “They said they planned to keep these campuses open through May 2027, and even longer if they couldn’t sell them. Now, they essentially want the ability to lay workers off at any time, remove job placement protections and offer severance packages that require employees to immediately separate from Penn State with little to no opportunity for rehiring.”
Senior Director of Penn State’s Labor and Employee Relations Board, Dovizia Long, declined to comment. Penn State spokesperson Wyatt DuBois said they are “continuing conversations on this matter.”
Earlier this month, the local union urged Teamster affiliates to contact state representatives and tell them to “press PSU leadership to negotiate in good faith and protect the workforce that keep these campuses operating.”
State Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, is one of many officials that has been responsive to the issue, Light said. Takac told the Centre Daily Times on Thursday that House Democrats have been long supporters of workers and workers’ rights, and are interested in making sure affected Penn State workers are treated fairly and that they have every opportunity to be able to make the best decisions for themselves.
“My House Democratic colleagues and I, including leadership, have clearly conveyed to Penn State that we urge them to do all they can to protect these workers and ensure they’re treated fairly and well during this difficult time,” he said.
Penn State’s proposal states layoffs are “anticipated” no sooner than May 2027, but “the timing of each layoff will be determined by the university.” Light argues this language does not guarantee that employees would remain working through Spring 2027.
The proposal also includes temporarily suspending certain union contract limits during the campus closure process and allowing expanded use of wage payroll and student workers more flexibly and even fill positions before union workers officially leave, a move that Light said weakens job protections for affected technical service employees.
A severance structure outlined in the proposal states that employees who remain at their closing campus until their layoff date would receive a lump-sum payment based on years of service, with payouts reaching up to 26 weeks of regular pay. To receive the severance, employees would also be required to sign a separation agreement releasing claims against the university.
At the same time, most layoff and recall protections in the union contract would no longer apply to affected workers. So once employees are severed, they would effectively lose their ability to continue bidding into university jobs through normal recall protections and would instead have to apply like outside candidates. Light said this is a major reason the union opposes the proposal, arguing it replaces broader long-term job protections with severance pay.
“We’re not going to agree to allow our members once they lay them off to a separation agreement, where they get a little bit of money, but in turn they’re laid off with no chance to rehire, and then they could bring contracts in to do their job, they’re not going to agree to that,” Light said.
While the proposal provides certain protections for affected employees, stating they “shall have bargaining unit seniority that supersedes all other employees when applying and being considered for job vacancies,” those protections are limited. They only apply to employees hired on or before June 30, 2025, only cover vacancies in the same or lower-grade positions, and only remain in effect before employees are severed. The provision also offers priority consideration rather than guaranteed placement, supporting the union’s argument that workers would receive only limited protections when seeking future university jobs.
“We’re essentially asking Penn State to come back to the bargaining table to help negotiate and mitigate the loss of these members once the campuses are closed, but also take care of them in the meantime,” Light said.
Light said he attended a meeting with university officials last week, the details of which were not fully shared with the CDT, and said he believes Penn State is working to find alternatives to the proposal and reach agreements with the union soon.
