Penn State Faculty Vote to Unionize Across University System; State Certification Pending

Penn State faculty across the university’s main campus, libraries and branch campuses voted to unionize in a Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board mail-ballot election, according to results announced May 14 by the organizing group Penn State Faculty Alliance. PSFA said 2,510 faculty members voted for union representation and 847 voted for no representation, with 3,357 ballots cast. The proposed bargaining unit covers more than 5,000 faculty members and is affiliated with SEIU Local 668. As of May 23, a separate public certification notice from the state labor board had not been confirmed in the research.

The unit spans faculty at University Park, the University Libraries and Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses, giving the organizing win a reach that extends across the university’s statewide system rather than a single campus or faculty category. PSFA and some local coverage described the election as historic because of that scale.

The election was administered by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, the state agency that oversees public-sector labor elections in Pennsylvania. Penn State’s “UnionFacts” website, which summarizes the PLRB process, said ballots were mailed beginning April 1, were due back by May 6 and were to be counted starting May 13. PSFA announced the outcome the next day, and local coverage including the Centre Daily Times reported the same vote totals.

The next formal step is certification by the PLRB. Penn State’s “UnionFacts” site says certification is what makes a union the exclusive bargaining representative for employees in the unit. After that, the sides would move into first-contract negotiations. Under Pennsylvania public-sector labor law, bargaining can cover wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment. Penn State says core managerial policy, budgeting and academic program decisions generally are not mandatory subjects of bargaining.

The organizing campaign formally advanced on Dec. 9, 2025, when PSFA said it filed thousands of authorization cards with the PLRB seeking an election. The faculty vote followed other labor organizing at Penn State; local reporting said graduate students voted to unionize in October 2025.

In a statement released by PSFA after the vote count, SEIU Local 668 President Steve Catanese said, “Every worker deserves a seat at the table, and SEIU 668 is committed to fighting for that right and opportunity in every corner of the Commonwealth. Now that Penn State faculty have won their seat at the table, our commitment and focus turn to bargaining a transformational first contract for faculty at every campus.”

For now, the vote count points to union representation for Penn State faculty across much of the university system, with certification by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board still the key remaining legal step before contract bargaining can begin.