2 YSU Professors to be Reinstated With Back Pay, Arbiter Rules

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – YSU-OEA, the union representing faculty at Youngstown State University, announced Monday that two Dana School of Music professors who lost their jobs last year due to budget cuts are to be reinstated immediately with back pay.

Jay Nadelbach, a Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service arbiter ruled in favor of the professors after hearing testimony about the retrenchments. Nadelbach ruled that YSU “violated Article 13 of the parties’ collective bargaining agreement.” Article 13 of the agreement outlines the process for retrenching faculty in departments.

In the written ruling that was submitted to both YSU-OEA and YSU administrators Dec. 9, Nadelbach agreed that the university “failed to properly apply several sections in Article 13” and concluded that professors Steven Reale and Randall Goldberg should be reinstated and “be made whole for all lost wages and benefits.”

“We are very happy to welcome back professors who were hastily let go last year, and we look forward to continuing our work on the curriculum and programs at YSU to find efficiencies while also protecting the diverse programs and faculty that make YSU an invaluable asset to the region,” YSU-OEA President Mark Vopat, said in a statement.

“We do not want to see any more faculty put through this long, damaging process of appeals and arbitrations. We want to focus our attention and resources on strengthening our programs, not building defenses against unjust terminations,” Vopat said.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.