BARGAINING
UPDATES

June 18, 2025

Key Takeaways

• We continued our discussion about Health and Safety and proposed revised language to protect academic freedom and free speech

• The administration refused to bargain over our Inclusive Work Environments proposal and their response to our Career Advancement proposal made it clear that we have a long way to go to reach an agreement.

• Early dismissal on July 3: To be or not to be?

In an incredibly frustrating session on June 17, the University administration provided very unsatisfactory responses to several of our proposals, and no responses to others. For the Inclusive Work Environments proposal that we told you about last time, we were told simply, “most of this is law or university policy, this doesn't work for us.” Our position is that having these protections in a contract would be ESSENTIAL to bargaining unit members in the event that the laws change - which is a very real possibility. Additionally, having this language in the contract would allow us to file grievances if the administration fails to abide by the law or their policies (which happens all too often).

The goal of our career advancement proposal was to have a defined, consistent pathway for promotions, reclassifications and transfers that would make these processes more transparent for staff. Based on what you told us, some things that we asked for were:  that promotions include a salary increase; that objective factors such as experience and seniority be used in evaluating candidates for promotion and transfers; and that bargaining unit staff will not have to suffer through an additional provisional period upon promotion, reclassification or transfer. Unfortunately, the university disagreed with all of these improvements that we proposed. We are certainly not giving up this fight!

Discussions about health and safety continued, and some progress was made toward an agreement.  However, there are several important protections that we still want to have in the contract to ensure that the health and safety of bargaining unit members, including pedestrian and cyclist safety, is a priority.

After initially making some progress on the issue, the administration announced on May 22 that it was refusing to bargain regarding protections for academic freedom and free speech, stating that staff “do not have academic freedom.” This refusal to bargain is unlawful. On June 17, we presented a new proposal to protect staff from retaliation on the basis of their teaching, research, or speech. We hope that the administration reconsiders its inappropriate refusal to bargain on these issues, which are common in academic contracts.

On May 19, the administration proactively reached out to the union for approval of an early dismissal on July 3rd for union-represented employees. We responded in agreement without hesitation, since we know how important it is for staff members to have this advanced notice before a scheduled holiday. Therefore, we were disappointed that the administration has since decided that this early dismissal will not be offered on a University-wide basis, and is being left up to individual departments or responsibility centers to offer.  We know that inconsistencies exist in which departments offer these early dismissals, and for which holidays they are offered, so we plan to bargain over this in the future to make this perk more equitable.

Your bargaining team is committed to reaching a strong and fair agreement with the administration as quickly as the process allows, given that the administration has thus far been willing to meet no more than twice per month. We've presented several proposals and requests for information that have gone unanswered for many months, and we are applying pressure to stimulate responses so that we can continue to bargain effectively. We appreciate your support during this process and welcome your continued engagement. The more people who get involved, the better our contract will be.

In Solidarity,

Jen Goeckeler-Fried, Chair, Biological Sciences, DSAS
Mark Brown, Secretary
Kearsten Adams, Academic Advising, UPG
Shawn Alfonso Wells, Pitt Global Experiences, UCIS
Lydia Chmill, Disability Resources & Services, OTC
Emily Daller, University Child Development Center, OHR
Jay Hornack, Law 
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