Penn State Teamsters Ratify New 4-Year Contract

Members of the union representing about 2,500 technical service employees at Penn State voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new contract with the university.

Nearly a month after the Teamsters Local 8 bargaining committee reached a tentative agreement with the university, members voted between July 22-26 by a margin of 1,569 to 176 to ratify the four-year deal.

Employees represented by the union will receive wage increases totaling 20% over the life of the contract, which is retroactive to July 1 and runs through June 30, 2028. Members will receive a 7% increase in year one, 5% increases in years two and three and a 3% increase in year four

“During the entire negotiation process, our members sent a very clear message to the University about obtaining a fair contract that provides significant wage increases," Jon Light, Teamsters Local 8 president, said in a statement. "We are thankful to finalize a contract that does just that. Our members make this university run and we look forward to providing this service for the next four years under our new contract."

The union has represented since 1968 employees at University Park and the Commonwealth Campuses who work in areas including custodial service, emergency medical response, housing and food service, trades, science, athletics, agriculture, research, printing, engineering, transportation, airport services and ITS.

Penn State and Local 8 began negotiations on May 2, and in late June union members authorized strike action if a deal couldn't be reached by the end of the month. As recently as June 14, the union had proposed a 32% total wage increase over three years, while Penn State's proposal prior to reaching an agreement offered increases of 3% each year for three years.

The two sides announced a tentative deal was reached on June 29. In addition to the wage increase, it also includes market rate adjustments for some positions as well as increases of 75 cents hourly for the second-shift differential, a $1 for the third-shift differentials and $4 for on-call pay.

Other elements include what the union called a "modest" increase for health care premiums but no plan changes; updates to sick leave, bereavement and parental leave policies; the addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth as paid holidays; new training and recognition programs and other changes to work schedules; and newly defined work schedules, among others.

“We’re grateful to have concluded another successful negotiation with Teamsters Local 8 to reach a contract that offers a competitive salary and benefits package aligned with the market,” Jennifer Wilkes, Penn State’s vice president for human resources, said in a statement. “Our technical service employees keep our campuses operating seamlessly, and we believe this contract compensates and recognizes them for their important work.”

University-wide, Penn State's 2024-25 and 2025-26 budgets each include a 3% pool for merit-based annual salary increases for non-union employees. Individual salary increases may be higher or lower than 3% based on employee performance and available funding.

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