by Gavin Petrone
Point Park University’s full-time faculty union still has not reached a contract with the administration, with the two sides still failing to agree on a resolution.
In the wake of the union mobilization during President Brussalis’s inauguration parade in mid-September, both the administration and negotiating faculty say that not much progress has been made. This week, the full-time faculty union passed its first vote of no confidence in Brussalis.
Members of the union also handed out flyers to make their demands known outside the opening ceremony for Point Park’s Family Weekend in the Professional Career Readiness Center.
The vote of no confidence was announced on Monday, Oct. 7, by faculty assembly president Jonathan Trueblood, an associate professor of animation. The vote passed 63-11, with six abstentions.
The university’s Board of Trustees wrote a letter in response to the vote, called “A Message of Unity and Support,” where they rallied in support of Brussalis.
The letter lists numerous achievements under the leadership of Brussalis, namely rising enrollment and success in sports programs.
“The president has our complete trust, and we are confident that under his leadership Point Park will continue to thrive,” the Board said in the letter.
A lack of transparency from the administration played a large part in the vote, several faculty union members said.
Marion Dixon, chair of the full-time faculty union and an associate professor of the Literature, Culture and Society Department, said that faculty being out of the loop in major decisions is a significant issue for negotiators.
“Where’s the shared governance?” Dixon said. “We have shared governance in our collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and we don’t see that.”
Dixon added that the discontinuation of several academic programs, compensation of past presidents Paul Hennigan and Don Green, and plans to build a new sports complex listed in a recent land-use survey were all made without faculty input.
Some union members in the Rowland School of Business agreed with Dixon’s sentiment.
Mark Voortman, union negotiator and associate professor of computer science, said that sudden layoffs in Point Park’s engineering programs violated required internal procedures and left faculty in the dark.
“There is a process in place for this which wasn’t followed at all,” Voortman said. “The university actually has a whole document of steps that needs to be followed, and none of those were.”
Dimitris Kraniou, an international economics professor and union negotiator, said that Brussalis’s appointment to the presidency was unorthodox.
“He came in exclusively through the administration,” Kraniou said. “So we did not have the opportunity to interact with the gentleman.
“He was brought in in the past to render advice,” Kraniou said. “He was able to work his way into being a member of the Board of Trustees, and voila.”
Negotiations are largely stuck on increasing faculty wages, union members said.
Members of the full-time faculty union say that their compensation has not kept pace with rising inflation. They say that their previous contract did not either, and they hope this coming contract will make up the difference of wages lost to inflation.
Voortman estimates that faculty lost between 4-6% of their purchasing power over the course of their last contract.
“We want to make sure that’s addressed, and we don’t feel that’s happening right now,” Voortman said.
Dixon said she hopes this next contract can make up for lost wages.
“We want wage increases above inflation now going forward,” Dixon said.
Dixon added that she believes the previous demonstration during Brussalis’s inauguration parade pushed negotiations in favor of the union.
“I have to believe so because that’s what motivates me,” Dixon said, “that what we’re doing makes a difference.”
Point Park’s student newspaper, The Globe, reported that in an interview on Wednesday, Oct. 9, Brussalis brushed off this notion and denied that the demonstration had any effect on negotiations.
“I think they’ve been going well, I think they’re getting closer and closer,” Brussalis said. “We’re hopeful that it’ll be settled soon.”
Lou Corsaro, assistant vice president of public relations for Point Park, said that the administration continues to negotiate in good faith with faculty.
Contract bargaining is set to resume on Friday, Oct. 18.
