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AAUP Grievance on creation of the Office of Academic Innovation

July 03, 2014 / Phil Lesch

Last Summer 3 academic professionals- two instructional designers and one program assistant, were given notices of layoff in the Office of Academic Innovation soon after the unit was created. No previous document about the OAI creation, including those provided the Faculty Senate Educational Policy Committee (EPC) who made a decision approving the unit, provided any indication that employees would be released. One of the employees was a member of the AAUP Executive Counsel and Co-Chair of the PSU-AAUP Strike Strategy Committee and the notice of layoff arrived right after that group had its first meeting and promulgated its first newsletter. PSU-AAUP also determined that a significant amount of those instructional designer's positions was slated to be transferred to lower paid new classified employee positions.

PSU-AAUP filed a grievance on the matter in Fall 2013 and then an Unfair Practice Charge in Winter 2014. PSU and PSU-AAUP interrupted the grievance process at Step Two to attempt settlement talks soon after we ratified the contract. Each side has submitted settlement proposals that could bring at least one of the laid off employees back to work with potential reinstatement rights for the other two. We remain hopeful we can settle the matter soon, but are prepared to adjudicate if settlement is not reached.

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