2,500 Workers Secure Significant Wage
Increases, Additional Holidays, Improved Leave Policies
STATE
COLLEGE, Penn., July 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.
Contact:
Matt McQuaid, (202)
624-6877
mmcquaid@teamster.org
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/teamsters-at-penn-state-university-ratify-strong-collective-bargaining-agreement-302207805.html
SOURCE Teamsters Local 8