By SUSAN JONES
Faculty, staff and grad workers are all currently at the bargaining table with Pitt’s administration.
OTHER NEGOTIATIONS
Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are also currently negotiating a contract as their one-year deal is about to expire. Look for an update on their negotiations, which continue on March 23, in the next University Times.
The University has staffed separate bargaining teams who handle negotiations for the different represented employee groups.
The needs of each group vary, but among the faculty, staff and grad workers, which are all part of the United Steelworkers (USW) union, there is a common desire to protect international members of each group.
The staff and grad workers unions proposed a memorandum of understand that would have, among other things, ensured limits on warrantless access by law enforcement to non-public spaces on campus. This move was made in light of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions on other campuses.
“The (grad) union takes the threat to our international colleagues very seriously,” said Lauren Wewer, who heads the bargaining committee. “They make up a significant portion of the grad bargaining unit. We think they should be safe on the job.”
In a March 11 bargaining update, the grad union said the administration had rejected the proposal to keep ICE out of private work spaces. “Despite ICE activity on other campuses, Vice Chancellor of the Office of Public Safety & Emergency Management Ted Fritz stated that the ‘level of risk is relatively low’ at Pitt,” the update said. “While the police may not have received reports of ICE activity on campus in the last year, we know that proactive protections are necessary to prevent this in the future.”
The faculty union also is seeking limits on warrantless searches and financial support for visa and permanent residence applications, and protections for faculty who are prevented from returning to work from travel abroad or whose work authorizations are threatened or canceled.
A University spokesman said today that, “We are aware of concerns from members of our Pitt community about the potential presence of federal immigration law enforcement officials on campus. The University maintains a case-specific approach for addressing law enforcement activity, which involves consultation with Pitt Police and Office of University Counsel, among other University representatives and stakeholders. After careful consideration, the University rejected the memorandum of understanding presented by the graduate students’ union because it is redundant given the measures that the University has in place.”
Jennifer Goeckeler-Fried, head of the staff union bargaining committee, said they have not received any response yet to a similar proposal, except a university-wide email on Feb. 20 from Clyde Wilson Pickett, vice chancellor for institutional engagement and well-being, where he reaffirmed the University’s commitment to maintaining an environment where everyone feels respected and supported.
“If it’s true that the University wants to make that commitment, then we think that a great way to do that would be to agree to the proposals that the staff, the grad workers and the faculty have put forward,” Goeckeler-Fried said.
Both the staff and grad worker unions have also complained that the University has been dragging its feet on negotiations and not responding to proposals in a timely manner.
A University spokesman said the administration rejects these assertions as “categorically false. The University continues to bargain in good faith with both the graduate and staff unions. The pace of negotiations can be influenced by a variety of factors, including the complexity and volume of the issues under discussion in both directions. The University remains committed to conducting productive bargaining sessions focused on reaching a fair and comprehensive contract.”
For all three unions, anyone in the bargaining unit will be covered by the eventual contract, whether they join the union or not. But only union members will be able to vote to ratify the contract once the bargaining committees and the administration arrive at tentative agreements.
Staff
Goeckeler-Fried said one of the big issues that still needs to be resolved before the negotiations move on to economic issues is around flexible work agreements. The staff union began its negotiations in December 2024.
“The flexibility gives workers a lot more control over their working environment, and provides them with, I think, better mental health overall,” she said.
The union’s proposal recognizes that the University has a right to determine if certain positions are eligible for a flexible work agreement, “but we are asking the University to make these decisions in a timely manner. … And we’re asking that these decisions are made in good faith, based on true operational need and without discrimination.”
The University has a flexible work policy, but it allows units to opt out of offering flex work.
“Even if there is a policy, we want to make sure that we have things covered in contract, so that it’s guaranteed for the term of the contract,” she said, noting that the University’s position has been, “they want to be able to change things whenever they want, for whatever reason they want.”
The union also wants to make sure there’s consistency across departments. “We’ve heard of some departments where the supervisors get to have flexible work agreements, but the staff members don’t and we don’t think that’s fair,” Goeckeler-Fried said.
A University spokesman said the administration does not discuss the specifics of any individual proposal that is currently under negotiation. “However, the University and the staff union have made significant progress on the flex work proposal, having narrowed the remaining subjects of discussion to approximately a handful.”
A couple of tentative agreements that Goeckeler-Fried is most pleased about include protection that guarantee that bargaining unit staff:
Won’t be disciplined or discharged without just cause, and will be able to file grievances if the legal standard isn’t met for just cause, or if other violations to the contract occur.
Will be guaranteed the right to speak out in support or opposition to matters of University governance and policy.
Whose performance is deemed unsatisfactory and needing improvement will be able to participate in the development of a performance improvement plan and will be given concrete steps and exactly how those steps will be measured to gauge their success.
The union and administration are currently meeting every two weeks and the union recently asked the administration to provide additional dates for bargaining, but is awaiting a response.
For more information on what’s happening in the bargaining sessions go to the Pitt Staff Union website or the University’s staff unionization website.
Grad workers
The grad workers union has been negotiating since January 2025. Wewer said they are pleased with recent tentative agreements on public safety support and grievance and arbitration.
The public safety issue prevents camera surveillance or email monitoring of individual workers.
In order to get to the economic issues of salaries and benefits, “we would actually need some substantial kind of movement from the university, which we haven’t been seeing, on things like nondiscrimination, academic freedom,” Wewer said.
The nondiscrimination issues include protection based on gender, race, mental conditions and more. The union also would like workers to be able to use their preferred names and pronouns.
As for academic freedom, Wewer said, “the administration believes that only faculty reserve the right for academic freedom in regards to their teaching and research. They currently keep rejecting our proposal outright, saying that grads and staff do not have the same rights. … Grads teach independently and do independent research, same as faculty. So we really think we should have the same kind of standards.”
She said Pitt also rejected a proposal on guaranteed employment, “which would guarantee grads a certain amount of years of funding, which is very standard for universities to do.”
For more information, go to the Pitt Grad Union website or the University’s grad student unionization website.
Faculty
The faculty union’s current collective bargaining agreement, which was approved in 2024, expires on June 30. Negotiations with the administration for the next contract began on Jan. 7.
Some of the new proposals presented by the union include improvements to research funding policies and guardrails against abuse of artificial intelligence tools.
The research funding proposal would ensure that all faculty have a minimum level of “hard money” support, to protect them during times when external funding might lapse.
The proposal on AI would establish “clear guardrails” for artificial intelligence as it might affect faculty’s jobs: “That our work cannot be used to train or develop AI tools; that AI cannot be used to surveil or record our digital activities; that faculty cannot be required to use AI; that any AI systems used by the administration will have strict privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual property protections; that AI cannot replace human judgment in evaluation of our work; and that AI cannot be used to replace our work.”
Negotiations are in the very early stage for the faculty union. Union members elected a bargaining committee last spring and completed a bargaining survey in the fall.
Find more information at the Union of Pitt Faculty website and the University’s faculty unionization website. Faculty members who are part of the bargaining unit also can sign up here for the union’s email list to receive updates on bargaining. Bargaining unit faculty members who would like more information should reach out to their union steward or Melinda Ciccocioppo (melindaciccocioppo@gmail.com).
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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