Labor actions and arbitration rulings moved to center stage this week. An independent arbitrator ordered Portland State University to reinstate 10 faculty members, finding the university violated its collective-bargaining agreement in last year’s layoffs and that shared governance was bypassed. In the U.K., staff at Lancaster University announced two-day strikes over proposed compulsory redundancies tied to a £30m savings plan. The twin developments highlight growing faculty resistance to rapid cost-cutting and raise questions about governance, process compliance and the operational impacts of escalating industrial actions on teaching and research.