Editorial: Penn State choices made union push inevitable

Penn State faculty are not unionized. That could change soon.

If the university’s leadership doesn’t like that, it’s their own fault.

The Penn State Faculty Alliance turned in thousands of union authorization cards to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. While imprecise, that’s still a considerable chunk of the university’s 7,498 faculty.

Penn State would join a growing list of old, respected legacy institutions opting for collective bargaining to represent educators after decades — sometimes centuries — without such organizations.

Harvard professors unionized in 2024. Pennsylvania’s other state-related schools — Pitt and Temple — are unionized; so are Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education faculty. Most other Big Ten schools aren’t unionized; Oregon, Illinois and Rutgers are, and Maryland faculty are pursuing it.

But 170 years after its founding, Penn State is facing this because its educators aren’t happy with things that are happening with the school. Some of them are about their jobs. There have been cuts and buyouts, with personnel down 10%. The university’s figures show faculty numbers have fallen 6.8% over the last five years.

They will go down more, as seven Commonwealth Campuses, including Fayette and New Kensington, will be closed by the end of the spring 2027 semester. That may have been a canary in the coal mine for some but not all.

“The announcement to close seven campuses came last May, but I have been organizing since five years ago because I saw the direction this university was headed,” said Penn State Fayette chemistry professor Julio Palma.

Penn State Altoona, one of the largest campuses, isn’t closing, but math professor Victor Brunsden isn’t happy about decisions being made without input from faculty.

“That requires an institution that represents us. That means we need a union,” he said.

The university has steamrolled decisions. A bloated board — one of the largest of any U.S. college — has overruled its own trustees’ questions and pleas for time to better plan in the name of barreling forward with administrative directions.

At the same time it asks employees to step down and pull back, it gave a new contract to President Neeli Bendapudi, making her the second-highest-paid university leader in the country.

Yes, Penn State is dealing with a changing educational reality. Schools compete for students. Tuition is sky high. There are questions about the future of international student and worker visas and the precarious nature of federal grants. There is a lot to navigate.

None of that will be better addressed without the active, informed and engaged participation of faculty. Whether unionized or not, universities need to make their faculty partners with like goals to succeed.

The union isn’t a foregone conclusion. There is still a vote to be taken. Many a unionization attempt has gotten to the voting stage and no further.

Penn State values its faculty, officials say. They said the same about Commonwealth Campuses.

If the university really does value faculty, it needs to prove it. It needs to make it clear and make it count in ways that show that value and let the faculty feel it — whether they unionize or not.