You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
The union that says it includes nearly 2,500 Temple University faculty members, professional librarians and academic professionals is still discussing whether to hold a no-confidence vote in Temple’s “central administration.”
The Temple Association of University Professionals (TAUP) is separate from the currently striking graduate student workers’ union but likewise affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers.
On Friday, TAUP announced in a news release that 580 of its members had gathered virtually to discuss a possible no-confidence vote.
The release said there have been layoffs, decreases in tenured positions and class size increases. At the end of the release, TAUP also mentioned the graduate student workers union’s continued lack of a contract and ongoing public safety concerns—a campus police officer was killed last month.
On Tuesday, TAUP announced that in its executive committee emergency meeting Monday, “the union’s elected leadership decided that the serious concerns raised by our members and others across the university community necessitated a public vote by the union on whether to authorize a vote of no confidence.”
The Tuesday announcement said there will be another meeting, on March 17, where “union members will have the chance to speak for or against the motion, and the meeting will end with a public vote. If the motion is successful, TAUP will initiate an official vote of no confidence the following week.”
Temple said negotiations with the graduate student workers’ union resumed Tuesday, for the first time in a week.
“We are aware of the prospect of a no-confidence vote in our senior university leaders,” a Temple spokesman said. “We are hopeful that the outcome of the discussions is that faculty members will continue to work with us to address the serious issues facing the university.”
