FACTS ON GRANT FUNDED POSITIONS
How could working together as a union benefit staff in research roles when we rely on external grants for funding?
Many of our jobs are primarily grant-funded, which means that our work is funded by a contract between Pitt and a funding agency. If you are in a grant-funded position, you might wonder how a union can improve your work experience.
Every aspect of our terms and conditions of employment at the University of Pittsburgh – including pay, research support, benefits, workload, and everything else directly relevant to our working conditions – are legally considered mandatory subjects of bargaining.
This means that if we choose to work together as a union by voting “yes” in the upcoming election, the administration will be obligated under the law to negotiate in good faith with us over those subjects, regardless of the source of funding for our position. The administration will be legally prohibited from making unilateral changes to our salary, research support, benefits, or working conditions without first negotiating with us over the proposed changes.
For instance, other higher education unions have negotiated for increased opportunities for bridge funding (Oregon State Univ.); improved parental and family leave (Univ. of Oregon, SUNY); and internally developed and approved departmental bylaws for promotion and performance evaluations (Univ. of Florida), as well as numerous other improvements.
Once we vote to form our union, we will elect our own representative bargaining committee from among our coworkers to negotiate our collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) with the administration. Our priorities for improvements and protections will guide the negotiation process and help determine our eventual CBA. We will vote on whether to accept and ratify the CBA before it takes effect.
Won't negotiating with the administration for better pay for staff further cut into already-tight grant funding?
No. Our priorities as staff will inform the proposals that our elected bargaining committee presents in negotiations with the administration. This means we would not create or support proposals that place our funding under even more pressure. It is also unlikely that the administration would propose changes that undermine researchers’ abilities to secure future funding.
There are some subjects that are prohibited subjects of bargaining, because staff and the administration aren’t permitted to negotiate an agreement that violates the law. For example, the NIH salary cap ($212,100 for 2023) is set by an Appropriations Act passed by Congress, so our contract could not provide staff a salary funded by that grant above the NIH cap, or the budgeted salaries in an already-awarded grant.
This does not mean that there would be no way for us to bargain pay higher than the cap—it just means that the administration would have to draw any additional salary funds from its other sources (such as appropriations from the Commonwealth, tuition revenue, auxiliary revenue, discretionary endowment funds, etc.).
By contrast, our elected bargaining committee could propose that all compensation increases be drawn from non-grant funds, so that pay gains don’t result in reductions in research support. We would also have the ability to negotiate for additional sources of bridge funding for research staff to make up for gaps in research support.
Will choosing to form a staff union prevent me from negotiating directly with my manager over merit-based salary increases?
No. Collective-bargaining agreements (CBAs) differ in different sectors, but virtually all CBAs in research universities establish pay minimums along with across-the-board percentage-based increases. Under that kind of CBA, the only limitation on individual negotiations over pay is that staff would not be permitted to negotiate compensation below the minimum. Some CBAs in research universities also specifically provide for merit-based pay increases and include language to ensure that determinations of “merit” are fair. As a union, we will be able to push for clear standards that guarantee that real merit is rewarded.
Won't forming a union create an adversarial relationship between staff, faculty, and administration management?
No. As a union, we can negotiate a collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) that protects the things we like about our jobs, improves the things we want to see fixed, and makes everything explicit via a contract that both we and the administration can agree upon.
The effect of such an agreement at the department level is to remove potential sources of conflict between staff and managers. Where conflicts do arise, CBAs generally provide a neutral process for settling disputes by an independent and impartial arbitrator, so that the rights of staff are protected, and the process doesn’t become personal.
Even at the university level, collective bargaining is about staff negotiating with the administration as equals, rather than having to plead as subordinates. While we won’t always agree, we are fully confident that staff and administrators can engage with the collective-bargaining process in a productive way.
How much will our dues be? What are they used for?
Dues in the USW are 1.45% of each member’s gross monthly earnings plus $0.02 per hour. These dues only kick in after we’ve voted to ratify a contract.
Although there are no guarantees of what wage increases a particular contract will include, nationwide, first contracts almost always include substantial wage increases. We would have no reason to vote in favor of a contract in which the raises didn't substantially exceed the dues, which is why substantial increases are the norm.
Union dues give us the power to fight for our rights as United Steelworker members and are our collective resource. Dues are an investment that come right back to us through good contracts, quality education, and a wide range of union services.
Many of our jobs are primarily grant-funded, which means that our work is funded by a contract between Pitt and a funding agency. If you are in a grant-funded position, you might wonder how a union can improve your work experience.
Every aspect of our terms and conditions of employment at the University of Pittsburgh – including pay, research support, benefits, workload, and everything else directly relevant to our working conditions – are legally considered mandatory subjects of bargaining.
This means that if we choose to work together as a union by voting “yes” in the upcoming election, the administration will be obligated under the law to negotiate in good faith with us over those subjects, regardless of the source of funding for our position. The administration will be legally prohibited from making unilateral changes to our salary, research support, benefits, or working conditions without first negotiating with us over the proposed changes.
For instance, other higher education unions have negotiated for increased opportunities for bridge funding (Oregon State Univ.); improved parental and family leave (Univ. of Oregon, SUNY); and internally developed and approved departmental bylaws for promotion and performance evaluations (Univ. of Florida), as well as numerous other improvements.
Once we vote to form our union, we will elect our own representative bargaining committee from among our coworkers to negotiate our collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) with the administration. Our priorities for improvements and protections will guide the negotiation process and help determine our eventual CBA. We will vote on whether to accept and ratify the CBA before it takes effect.
Won't negotiating with the administration for better pay for staff further cut into already-tight grant funding?
No. Our priorities as staff will inform the proposals that our elected bargaining committee presents in negotiations with the administration. This means we would not create or support proposals that place our funding under even more pressure. It is also unlikely that the administration would propose changes that undermine researchers’ abilities to secure future funding.
There are some subjects that are prohibited subjects of bargaining, because staff and the administration aren’t permitted to negotiate an agreement that violates the law. For example, the NIH salary cap ($212,100 for 2023) is set by an Appropriations Act passed by Congress, so our contract could not provide staff a salary funded by that grant above the NIH cap, or the budgeted salaries in an already-awarded grant.
This does not mean that there would be no way for us to bargain pay higher than the cap—it just means that the administration would have to draw any additional salary funds from its other sources (such as appropriations from the Commonwealth, tuition revenue, auxiliary revenue, discretionary endowment funds, etc.).
By contrast, our elected bargaining committee could propose that all compensation increases be drawn from non-grant funds, so that pay gains don’t result in reductions in research support. We would also have the ability to negotiate for additional sources of bridge funding for research staff to make up for gaps in research support.
Will choosing to form a staff union prevent me from negotiating directly with my manager over merit-based salary increases?
No. Collective-bargaining agreements (CBAs) differ in different sectors, but virtually all CBAs in research universities establish pay minimums along with across-the-board percentage-based increases. Under that kind of CBA, the only limitation on individual negotiations over pay is that staff would not be permitted to negotiate compensation below the minimum. Some CBAs in research universities also specifically provide for merit-based pay increases and include language to ensure that determinations of “merit” are fair. As a union, we will be able to push for clear standards that guarantee that real merit is rewarded.
Won't forming a union create an adversarial relationship between staff, faculty, and administration management?
No. As a union, we can negotiate a collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) that protects the things we like about our jobs, improves the things we want to see fixed, and makes everything explicit via a contract that both we and the administration can agree upon.
The effect of such an agreement at the department level is to remove potential sources of conflict between staff and managers. Where conflicts do arise, CBAs generally provide a neutral process for settling disputes by an independent and impartial arbitrator, so that the rights of staff are protected, and the process doesn’t become personal.
Even at the university level, collective bargaining is about staff negotiating with the administration as equals, rather than having to plead as subordinates. While we won’t always agree, we are fully confident that staff and administrators can engage with the collective-bargaining process in a productive way.
How much will our dues be? What are they used for?
Dues in the USW are 1.45% of each member’s gross monthly earnings plus $0.02 per hour. These dues only kick in after we’ve voted to ratify a contract.
Although there are no guarantees of what wage increases a particular contract will include, nationwide, first contracts almost always include substantial wage increases. We would have no reason to vote in favor of a contract in which the raises didn't substantially exceed the dues, which is why substantial increases are the norm.
Union dues give us the power to fight for our rights as United Steelworker members and are our collective resource. Dues are an investment that come right back to us through good contracts, quality education, and a wide range of union services.