BARGAINING
UPDATES

August 12, 2026

Key Takeaways

• We reached Tentative Agreements on Health and Safety and International Staff!

• We proposed a package of counters for seven of the remaining non-economic proposals.

We're pleased to report that in our session on August 12, 2026, we reached two Tentative Agreements (TAs)!  Everyone deserves to have a safe workplace, and both of these TAs include important protections that will help to ensure this for us.  Our Health and Safety TA includes a commitment from the administration to provide a safe working environment, and to not reduce the safety standards at the university. It also outlines the procedures for reporting unsafe conditions, and it details the process by which they will be resolved. This includes the establishment of a joint Labor-Management Health and Safety Committee, who will meet regularly to address issues and concerns. Bargaining unit members will be able to request safety trainings that are aligned with their job duties, and will be able to request environmental testing (air, water, noise, etc.) at specific locations if they have concerns.  Furthermore, no one should face retaliation, discrimination, or termination for reporting an unsafe condition, and our TA also includes "whistleblower" protections to safeguard against it. 

The International Staff TA includes a commitment from the administration to provide a safe, inclusive, and equitable work environment for all bargaining unit employees, regardless of immigration or citizenship status to the extent permitted by law. This commitment includes an assurance that immigration status will be kept confidential and will be disclosed only for legitimate business purposes or as required by law or court order.  In instances where a bargaining unit member cannot remain employed because they lack proper work authorization, our TA provides the potential for re-employment when work authorization is granted. Additionally, the union will be notified if the university is informed that a bargaining unit member has been detained by an outside law-enforcement agency for immigration-related reasons, or if non-routine immigration enforcement activity occurs in university-owned premises.

We also proposed a package deal for seven of the remaining non-economic proposals: Hours of Work, Bargaining Unit Work, Provisional Periods, Career Advancement, Work Effort Changes, Layoffs, and Management Rights. These proposals contain many interwoven concepts regarding our working conditions, job security, and operational flexibility.   We are getting close to an agreement for several of them, so rather than continuing to negotiate each one separately, we are hoping that we can make faster progress on the remaining issues by dealing with them together as a package.

We were hoping for a response to our proposal for interim raises that would take effect while we are still negotiating our first contract, but unfortunately the university has chosen to disappoint us again - they merely stated that they are still working on it. As we face rising costs and economic struggles, these raises are a necessity for us, not a luxury. We will be back at the bargaining table on August 19th, and we will certainly continue to advocate for the raises we deserve.

In solidarity,

Your bargaining committee
Jen Goeckeler-Fried, Chair, Biological Sciences, DSAS
Kearsten Adams, Recording Secretary, Academic Advising, UPG
Shawn Alfonso Wells, Pitt Global Experiences, UCIS
Mark Brown, DLAR
Lydia Chmill, Disability Resources & Services, OTC
Emily Daller, University Child Development Center, OHR
Jay Hornack, Law
Adriana Maguiña-Ugarte, Anthropology
Todd Shaffer, Office of Student Life, UPJ
Michelle Utz-Kiley, Epidemiology, SPH
Dan Wyszomierski, UPCI/NSABP
Matt Nader, USW
Nate Kilbert, USW
Don Shaffer, USW
Bernie Hall, District 10 Director, USW