BARGAINING
UPDATES

July 8, 2026

Key Takeaways

• The administration did not respond to our proposal for interim salary increases.

• We made significant progress on International Staff and Hours of Work.

• We received a counter to our UCDC proposal.

We met with the administration on July 8, 2026. We were awaiting a response to our proposal for salary increases, but we did not get one. We were told that the administration is “still considering our proposal.” The Board of Trustees will meet on Friday morning to approve the FY27 operating budget, and we imagine that this is the reason for the delay in responding to us. We certainly hope that the administration will do better than the 2.5% raises we got last year.  Meanwhile, we will negotiate additional salary increases as part of the ongoing contract bargaining, and our economic survey is still open. If you haven't already done so, WE INVITE YOU TO SHARE YOUR STORY with us using this short form. Many of you have already told us about your struggles - thank you to everyone who took the time to reach out! We will bring your statements to the administration to augment our own at the bargaining table. You can also let us know if you're interested in attending a future bargaining session. We will close the survey on July 17, and after that we will reach out to those of you who want to attend a bargaining session to provide more details. We're in this fight together, and having some of you share your stories in person will send a powerful message to the administration.

During this session, we made significant progress on two topics - International Staff, and Hours of Work, with each side presenting a counterproposal.  To remind you, our International Staff proposal asks for a commitment from the university to provide a safe, inclusive, and equitable work environment for all bargaining unit employees, regardless of immigration or citizenship status. We also want to ensure that the university provides appropriate support during Visa applications or renewals, and when bargaining unit staff members are applying for legal permanent residency.  Our Hours of Work proposal deals with the processes that govern employer- or employee-initiated schedule changes, addresses breaks (such as lunch breaks) and aims to define a "standard" workweek, which will set the foundation for other proposals that outline what happens during a "non-standard" workweek - for example, when you work overtime. We hope to reach agreements on these two proposals very soon.

Lastly, we received a counter on our UCDC proposal. Because they care for young children, staff at the University Child Development Center have some unique workplace concerns. Discussions are ongoing, but we're happy to report that the university was willing to engage with several of our proposed solutions.

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