Admin, service faculty at Minnesota State universities file intent to strike

Administrative and service faculty at seven Minnesota State universities are one step closer to walking off the job.

On Friday, Teamsters Local 320 – the union representing the Minnesota State University Association of Administrative and Service Faculty – said it had filed its intent to strike with the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services.

With a required 10-day cooling-off period, that means the employees could strike starting on Aug. 22.

The move comes three weeks after the union overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike.

“We have now been engaged in contract negotiations with Minnesota State for five months and have not made serious progress on the wage disparities,” Brian Aldes, the secretary and chief negotiator for Teamsters Local 320, said. “Our goal remains to reach a voluntary settlement that addresses the priorities of the faculty, but Minnesota State must meet us half way.”

“Minnesota State seeks to reach a settlement on the 2023-2025 MSUAASF bargaining agreement through good-faith negotiations at the bargaining table,” Minnesota State Vice Chancellor of Human Resources Eric Davis said. “In the meantime, our state universities are developing contingency plans that will provide for continuation of essential services in the event of a strike, and we are confident that our universities will remain open and ready to serve our students with the seamless, quality higher education experience our students deserve.”

The union says mediation sessions are scheduled for Aug. 14 and 15.

The universities that would be directly impacted by the strike are Bemidji State, Metro State, Minnesota State Mankato, Minnesota State Moorhead, St. Cloud State, Southwest Minnesota State and Winona State.