After months of bargaining for standard wage increases, the University of Pittsburgh Staff and Graduate Student Union members received a 2.5% raise in December.

The Pitt Staff Union came to an agreement with the University in a Memorandum of Understanding that included a 2.5% raise for employees, a raise bargaining unit members will receive in backpayment from Aug. 1, 2025. The MOU also included staff access to the Recreation and Wellness Center with a $35 to $45 membership, depending on salary. 

In May 2025, the University presented a proposal to increase staff wages by 2.5% alongside health care costs. The staff union chose to bargain against these changes, according to Jen Goeckler-Fried, Staff Union bargaining chair and Brodsky lab manager. 

A June 9 update on the staff union website stated the University would increase health and dental insurance premiums by 8%, alongside increases to co-payments and costs in other parts of the plans. 

The graduate student bargaining unit similarly worked towards a 2.5% raise with a proposal submission in July according to Lauren Wewer, bargaining chair for the Graduate Student Union and materials science engineering student. 

The Graduate Student Union reached a raise-based MOU with the University in December for a 2.5% stipend increase retroactive to Sept. 1, 2025. 

Goeckler-Fried said the staff union raise was a “win” since it didn’t come with increased health care costs, but it wasn’t enough to make ends meet for many staff members. The Staff Union is still bargaining and is looking for larger raises in their final contract.

“To be honest, a 2.5% raise doesn’t even keep up with inflation,” Goeckler-Fried said. “We know that staff deserve more, but at least we were able to secure these 2.5% raises without increased health care costs for now, in this interim period.” 

Kearsten Adams, an academic advisor at Pitt-Greensburg and member of the staff bargaining committee, said she was appreciative of the raise, but it wasn’t enough to make a large financial difference. 

“I make less than $40,000 a year, so a 2.5% raise is under $1,000,” Adams said. “While I’m thankful for any raise, when the cost of living and groceries are so high, it’s just not going to make that much of a difference in my quality of life.”

Non-represented staff members received a 2.5% raise with increased health care costs in the summer, while bargaining unit members turned down the increased health care costs alongside the raise. The union instead decided to fight for their raise instead of accepting the increase in health care that came with the 2.5% salary bump.

Staff members in the bargaining unit will receive backpay starting Aug. 1, 2025, to help “offset” increased health care costs that non-represented staff had to face, according to University  spokesperson Jared Stonesifer.

According to Wewer, the raise was necessary for many graduate student bargaining unit members — especially for some who couldn’t afford groceries or other needs. Wewer said graduate workers “made their frustration known” by holding rallies during the bargaining period and visiting Provost McCarthy’s office hours to express concerns. 

“We heard from a lot of our members [after the December raise announcement], like, ‘Oh my gosh. I can actually stay in my apartment throughout the lease, I don’t have to move now in the middle of a semester because I can’t afford rent,’” Wewer said.  

Monica Leys, a physics and astronomy graduate student, teaching fellow and organizer, is hoping for a pay increase that goes beyond inflation adjustment. 

“We want to make sure that when we actually solidify our contract, we’re getting not only the bare minimum on time, but something that’s actually livable and keeps up with the economy, amongst other things,” Leys said.

The 2.5% increase for Graduate and Staff Unions was announced within days of the news of Chancellor Joan Gabel’s 30% raise. Gabel said that she’ll donate her raise to students, staff and faculty through various scholarships and funds. 

Adams, one of the staff union’s original organizers, said the chancellor’s raise was “poor timing” after the staff’s fight for a raise since May. 

“That really kind of took away from our success and it made everyone question why we couldn’t have more when the chancellor and other administrators got such large raises,” Adams said. 

Emily Daller, an assistant teacher at the University Center for Child Development and staff bargaining committee member, was grateful for the raise but felt staff compensation should be higher alongside the chancellor’s raise. 

“It just kind of felt like a slap in the face a little bit, that we get this announcement that the chancellor’s getting this very large raise — much, much higher than 2.5%,” Daller said. “It wasn’t great for morale.” 

Alongside the fight for larger raises, the Staff Union is planning to fight for a better membership deal at the Recreation and Wellness Center, according to Goeckler-Fried. 

“Previously, staff and faculty had access to workout facilities on campus that were free, and that was a really nice benefit of working here,” Goeckler-Fried said. “If Pitt leadership says that they value their faculty and staff, they obviously don’t value us enough to keep offering the free access to recreational facilities as a benefit.” 

Both the Staff and Graduate Student Unions are continuing to separately bargain for their first contracts while supporting one another in the process. 

“We are all doing very important work, and we value our grad worker colleagues tremendously,” Goeckler-Fried said. “We want to see them be successful and get paid fair wages as well.”