Teamsters at Penn State University Ratify Strong Collective Bargaining Agreement

https://teamster.org/2024/07/teamsters-at-penn-state-university-ratify-strong-collective-bargaining-agreement/

2024.07.26

2,500 Workers Secure Significant Wage Increases, Additional Holidays, Improved Leave Policies

Press Contact: Matt McQuaid Phone: (202) 624-6877 Email: mmcquaid@teamter.org

(STATE COLLEGE, Penn.) – Teamsters at Penn State University have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement. The four-year contract is retroactive to July 1, and includes a 20 percent wage increase over the life of the agreement, increased shift differentials and on-call pay, improved language for paid leave, Martin Luther King Jr. and Juneteenth as paid holidays, and defined work schedules.

“Teamsters 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 now that our contract has been ratified by our members,” said Jonathan Light, President of Local 8. “This contract recognizes the hard work and commitment of our members to the university and the commitment of the university to our members.”

The 2,500 Teamsters at Penn State work in custodial service, emergency medical response, foodservice, housing service, trades, science, athletics, agriculture, research, printing, engineering, transportation, airport services, ITS, and media at University Park, as well as more than 20 commonwealth campuses throughout Pennsylvania.

“First and foremost, I want to thank the officers of Local 8, the executive board, and the entire negotiating committee for their tireless, selfless work on behalf of all our members. They brought home the best contract of my career,” said John R. Bathurst, a lead asbestos removal and insulation mechanic at Penn State University Park. “I would also like to thank Teamsters International Eastern Region Vice President Bill Hamilton for announcing that the Teamsters’ General Executive Board would increase our strike benefits if we were forced onto the picket line. This announcement strengthened our membership’s resolve like nothing I have ever witnessed in my 36 years of being a proud Teamster. Throughout the contract campaign, our members sent a strong, loud, and unified statement to PSU. I have never been prouder to be a Teamster. To see this level of solidarity was humbling to me and inspiring for the future of organized labor.”

Teamsters Local 8 represents more than 2,500 working men and women employed at the Penn State University, including over 20 commonwealth campuses throughout Pennsylvania. For more information, visit ibtlocal8.org.