Temple University will reinstate health care benefits for TUGSA members on strike effective immediately, wrote Ken Kaiser, senior vice president and chief operating officer, in a message to the Temple community Tuesday night.
“This afternoon, negotiators from TUGSA and the university once again met to continue discussions toward an agreement that benefits both parties,” Kaiser wrote. “Because of the good faith effort shown by TUGSA, we are pleased to report that immediately, we will reinstate healthcare subsidies for striking TUGSA members.”
The two parties did not reach an agreement in Tuesday’s negotiation session, but will continue discussions on Wednesday, Kaiser added.
As of right now, striking members will still owe their full tuition balance for the spring semester on March 9.
The announcement came as TUGSA enters its seventh week of striking for increased pay, better benefits and classroom improvements.
“Our strength and your support put pressure on [Temple University] admin to reverse their heinous decision to, without notification, deactivate our healthcare coverage since the start of the strike,” TUGSA wrote in a tweet. “The pressure is working, let’s keep it up until we get a fair contract!”
The union planned on filing an unfair labor practice complaint against Temple after the university deactivated striking members’ health care plans and notified them that they would not be receiving tuition remission for the spring semester.
TUGSA rejected a tentative agreement with the university on Feb. 21, that included a retroactive pay increase of 10 percent as well as a one-time payment of $1,000 to every TUGSA member. The agreement also included a 5 percent, 2.5 percent and 2.25 percent increase to the minimum pay for the next three academic years, respectively.
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