Key Takeaways:

• We presented 8 contract proposals to the administration that would create crucial substantive and due process rights for staff, and we expect to receive responses before or during the next bargaining session.

• We were frustrated that an interim agreement that would alleviate many issues that staff are facing regarding raises, promotions, supplemental pay, and teaching assignments was met with resistance from the administration.

• We reiterated our desire to clarify the criteria that should be applied to determine bargaining unit member inclusion or exclusion, and the administration agreed to provide an initial list of uncertain cases to us within the next few weeks.

Dear colleagues,

During our first bargaining session on January 10, 2025, we presented eight proposals to the administration that will begin to establish the framework for our first contract, which emphasized that staff members are entitled to the same dignity and respect as faculty.

The proposals included recognition of the USW as the exclusive representative for both the non-professional and professional bargaining units by the administration, and our intent that the two units will be covered by the same collective bargaining agreement.

We also proposed that, like faculty, staff will be entitled to full academic freedom when conducting research, teaching, or speaking as private citizens, with an acknowledgement of the responsibilities that come with these freedoms.

Additional proposals focused on crucial rights for staff, including: the administration cannot discipline or discharge an employee without just cause; the ability of bargaining unit members to have a union representative present at any investigatory meeting that they believe may result in discipline; the requirement that bargaining unit members be provided with a predisciplinary meeting, during which the employee has the opportunity to respond to allegations against them and the right to have a union representative present; and the establishment of a grievance and arbitration procedure to investigate and resolve alleged violations of the collective bargaining agreement.

The administration promised to respond to these proposals before or during the next bargaining session, and we will strive to reach tentative agreements on them and keep moving this process forward as swiftly as possible.

Many staff members have reached out to us to let us know they have been denied expected raises, promotions, supplemental payments or teaching assignments because an interim agreement regarding these issues has not yet been reached. We made progress on some aspects of the agreement, but among other things, the crucial issue of how it will be enforced remains unresolved.

The administration wants to be able to circumvent the Union altogether, even though the law requires that collectively bargained agreements be enforced through labor arbitration.

We will keep working hard to get this interim agreement in place as soon as possible, but until that occurs if you have been denied any of the items listed above, please email staffunionofpitt@usw.org with as many details as possible, and we will attempt to resolve the issue.

In solidarity,

Your Bargaining Committee

Bernie Hall, Director USW District 10
Kearsten Adams (Academic Advising, UPG)
Shawn Alfonso Wells (Pitt Global Experiences, UCIS)
Mark Brown, Secretary (Cell Biology, SOM)
Lydia Chmill (Disability Resources & Services, OTC)
Emily Daller (University Child Development Center, OHR)
Kelly Gilliam (Philanthropic & Alumni Engagement)
Jen Goeckeler-Fried, Chair (Biological Sciences, DSAS)
Jay Hornack (Law)
Adriana Maguiña-Ugarte (Anthropology, DSAS)
Dawn Miller (Academic Affairs, UPJ)
Michelle Utz-Kiley (Epidemiology, SPH)
Matt Nader, USW District 10
Robin Sowards, USW District 10