With close to 5,700 professors and faculty members preparing to vote on whether or not they will join a union later this semester, Penn State University President Neeli Bendapudi was put in the hot seat during a Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee meeting earlier this week.
State Rep. Tarik Khan (D-Philadelphia) asked Bendapudi and leaders from Pennsylvania’s other state universities if the schools will commit to fair union elections and not use school funds or taxpayer dollars to interfere with organizing efforts on their campuses.
They all responded by saying “yes.”
This comes after 102 Democratic lawmakers in the state legislature signed a letter asking Penn State to remain neutral in its upcoming election. Gov. Josh Shapiro also expressed support for Penn State to remain neutral during this process.
“We respect their right to seek union representation, and we are working with the Penn State Faculty Alliance and the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board to finalize the details of the election, which we anticipate could begin later this semester via mail-in ballots. Faculty unionization would represent a fundamental shift in University operations, and we urge all eligible faculty to educate themselves and — most importantly — to vote,” Rosie Lapowsky, press secretary for Shapiro, said in a statement.
