A majority of participating Penn State faculty members voted in favor of union representation, according to the Service Employees International Union.
The SEIU Local 668 announced Thursday that 2,510 faculty members voted in favor of a union. More than 5,000 faculty were able to vote in the election.
“The road toward equity, fairness and better working conditions is never easy. Our effort has always been about dignity, shared governance, protecting academic freedom, and ensuring that faculty have a meaningful voice in the future of Penn State,” Julio Palma, a Penn State Fayette chemistry professor, said in a statement.
“We are committed to being truly representative, democratic and inclusive of all faculty in our bargaining unit. We are also committed to working constructively with the administration toward a strong first contract.
“This is not the end of the process. It is the beginning of the hard and important work ahead to help uphold the university’s mission and values.”
The union will include faculty members across all ranks and departments at University Park and the Commonwealth Campuses, which is the formal name for the branch campuses.
The Penn State Faculty Alliance in December filed the signatures needed for a vote on unionization. Ballots were mailed April 1 with a May 6 deadline to return to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.
Wyatt DuBois, a Penn State spokesman, said the university is aware of the preliminary vote count results.
“Based on the preliminary results, a clear majority of participating faculty appear to have voted in favor of representation,” he said. “Because the results are not yet official and remain subject to the PLRB certification process, the university will share additional information with faculty following certification of the election results.”
The unionization push comes as Penn State prepares to close seven Commonwealth Campuses statewide by next spring, including the New Kensington and Fayette locations in Southwestern Pennsylvania. After those closures, 12 branch campuses will remain.
In February, more than 100 state lawmakers signed a letter to University President Neeli Bendapudi in support of the unionization attempt.