BSU Staff Hold Informational Picket to Express Concerns with Contracts

Last month, Administrative and Service Faculty affiliated with Teamsters Local 320 voted to authorize a strike if Minnesota State did not advance the union’s economic priorities for living wages and for an equity and compression study. Workers at Bemidji State University held a picket this week inform the public about these concerns.

Staff affiliated with the union have been in contract negotiations since April and entered state-facilitated mediation on July 25.

On Tuesday, the Minnesota State Association of Administrative and Service Faculty at BSU hosted an informational picket on campus, where they expressed their concerns on their contracts with Minnesota State.

“Well, all seven of our universities … in [Minnesota State] have made signs and done practice pickets,” said George McConnell, Director of Graduate Programs at BSU.

Administrative and Service Faculty say they are exhausted of meeting Minnesota state halfway and are ready to make their own terms.

“[We’ve] asked for annual step increases like our other colleagues on campus, and we’ve asked for similar across the board inflationary cost of living wages,” explained McConnell. “And we feel that if Minn State met that, we would happily go … [back to] our jobs and support our students.”

A main concern is coming to a final agreement and being prepared for the upcoming school year. BSU administration says they’re are working hand in hand to resolve the issues of the contracts of some of the staff with Minnesota State. 

“The process for negotiations, we’ve been anticipating this locally, the negotiations with multiple bargaining units this summer,” said BSU President Dr. John Hoffman. “We’re working, again, in good faith through the negotiating process to get to an agreement.”

Administrative and Service Faculty work in admissions, financial aid, housing, health services, mental health services, student registration, course scheduling, student activities, event planning, teaching, international student services, and more.