Penn State technical service union employees won’t strike after tentative agreement is reached

A union of Penn State employees came to an agreement for a new contract just as its contract was set to expire and the possibility of a strike was on the horizon.

Teamsters Local 8, a union of technical service employees at Penn State, posted on Facebook early Saturday that they reached a tentative four-year agreement with the university. They haven’t announced many details of the contract, but the post states it includes 20% wage increases over the life of the contract.

“This effort was only made possible by the nearly 1900 members who authorized strike action and showed the University that WE WERE READY! There will be no strike; therefore, there will be no interruption in your work schedule,” the post states.

The union will vote to ratify the contract in the next few weeks, a release from the university states. More details about the terms will be announced at that time. If ratified, it will be retroactive to July 1 and be in effect through June 30, 2028.

In the release, Jon Light, president of the union, said they’re grateful to reach a tentative agreement.

“Local 8 and our members are proud to provide exceptional service to the University community and look forward to continuing to do so for another four years. This contract recognizes the hard work and commitment of our members to the University and the commitment of the University to our members,” Light said.

Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer, said this agreement continues the university’s history of good-faith bargaining and reaching such agreements with the union.

“We greatly value our technical service employees, and this contract recognizes their important contributions to Penn State and the essential work they do every day to allow us to deliver on our teaching, research and service mission,” Wilkes said.

The union had been in contract negotiations with the university since early May with their contract expiring midnight June 30. Members voted earlier this week to authorize the union’s executive board to take strike action if necessary.

Members overwhelmingly voted in favor of authorizing a strike — of the 2,053 members who voted, 1,878 voted in favor, or 91%, and 175 voted against authorizing a strike.