Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
A strike seems imminent for Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) as administrators failed to reach a contract agreement during negotiations with its faculty union (HACCEA) Tuesday night. The union said it intends to strike, although it did not say how soon that could happen. Under Pennsylvania Law, the union does not have to give the college advance notice. Lebo said the union will not release information on a strike date in advance, but that it is planning and coordinating details. Negotiations on Tuesday night lasted more than seven hours and ended at 1:15 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the union negotiating team. The union is organized under the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the statewide educator’s union. “We are still here, we are still working on this and we still hope to reach an agreement,” Laurie Lebo, PSEA spokesperson said. “The membership is energized and mobilized and we are committed to a strike.” HACCEA has offered the college and mediator two more negotiation dates, Oct. 31 and Nov. 5, which the college hasn’t accepted as of Wednesday morning. College officials could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday morning. The main holdup on the contract is wages and salary. The two parties did reach an agreement on issues relating to intellectual property, department chairs and rank and promotion proceedings. Educators have gone 42 months without a union contract, and 40 months without a raise. It’s been a strained relationship since the HACC faculty voted to join the union in 2022. Faculty at the time accused HACC of union-busting and the college had two PSEA organizers arrested for trespassing in 2023. The union has about 250 active members and a contract would encompass about 750 teaching positions. More than 12,600 college students attend HACC across its five campuses.
