Pitt Faculty Secure Existing Benefits, Increase Wages, Improve Job Protections in Historic First Union Contract
Why is this important to staff?
On May 10, the Pitt Faculty ratified their first union contract with the Administration. Both the Administration and the Union agreed to the terms, which the Administration is now legally required to honor.
The contract secures existing benefits, improves wages and sets clear and transparent processes the Administration has agreed to follow. It gives faculty greater job security, preventing managers from playing favorites or cutting wages and requires the university to consult with the faculty’s local union before making major changes.
How will it impact future contract negotiations at Pitt?
This was the Administration’s first time bargaining a union contract of this scale. Through this process, the USW and Pitt laid the ground work for future union contracts.
While every contract is different, the union got the Administration to agree to key foundational language that’s part of any union contract such as the grievance procedure and a collaborative Labor-Management problem-solving process. This will help ensure future negotiations go much more quickly!
What did the faculty win?
Improved Pay
What did the faculty lose?
Nothing! They secured all existing benefits and maintained flexibility for department-level decision-making while ensuring benefits and processes are protected by a legally-binding contract we can hold management accountable to.
What’s next?
The first contract is just the starting point. Faculty will continue improving the contract in future negotiations – and continue to build their union by electing officers, training stewards (stewards are members who help address issues between union members and management) and keeping all union members informed and engaged.
On May 10, the Pitt Faculty ratified their first union contract with the Administration. Both the Administration and the Union agreed to the terms, which the Administration is now legally required to honor.
The contract secures existing benefits, improves wages and sets clear and transparent processes the Administration has agreed to follow. It gives faculty greater job security, preventing managers from playing favorites or cutting wages and requires the university to consult with the faculty’s local union before making major changes.
How will it impact future contract negotiations at Pitt?
This was the Administration’s first time bargaining a union contract of this scale. Through this process, the USW and Pitt laid the ground work for future union contracts.
While every contract is different, the union got the Administration to agree to key foundational language that’s part of any union contract such as the grievance procedure and a collaborative Labor-Management problem-solving process. This will help ensure future negotiations go much more quickly!
What did the faculty win?
Improved Pay
- Wage increases that are locked in, achieving a fairer minimum wage for ALL faculty
- Ratification bonus
- Transparent process for faculty to request individual wage increases based on equity, merit, market rate and retention
- No changes to retirement, education, public transit and dependent-care benefits
- New cap on future healthcare premium increases that helps protect members from rising costs
- Secured holidays, parental leave, bereavement leave
- Added new paid leave for jury duty
- All paid time off is now fully protected and enforceable
- All departments are now required to develop a transparent workload policy
- New protections against involuntary overloads
- More transparent process for promotions
- Streamlined process for addressing disputes that includes clear deadlines and ensures members have a union advocate at their side
- Language that protects and maintains flexibility within each department to handle issues specific to their work and structure
- Historic new protections for faculty jobs with presumptive renewals
- Improved job security and transparency
- New standards to protect health and safety, including the ability to negotiate key issues like pandemic response, protective equipment and safe work spaces
- New anti-bullying and anti-harassment language that goes beyond federal law
- Clearly defined grievance procedure that ensures members will always have a union advocate at their side, fighting for them if they feel they’ve been harassed, bullied or discriminated against
What did the faculty lose?
Nothing! They secured all existing benefits and maintained flexibility for department-level decision-making while ensuring benefits and processes are protected by a legally-binding contract we can hold management accountable to.
What’s next?
The first contract is just the starting point. Faculty will continue improving the contract in future negotiations – and continue to build their union by electing officers, training stewards (stewards are members who help address issues between union members and management) and keeping all union members informed and engaged.