BARGAINING
UPDATES

May 12, 2025

Key Takeaways

• We presented a new Flexible Work Arrangements proposal, and made good progress on several other proposals.

• Our discussions surrounding Union Rights led to a Tentative Agreement!

On Friday, May 9, 2025 we met with the administration for an intense day of exchanging proposals and counterproposals across the table.

In the bargaining survey that we sent out a few months ago, many of you with flexible work arrangements (FWAs) told us how important they are to you. We agree that FWAs benefit both staff members and the university, and should be protected. FWAs improve worker's job satisfaction, retention, and productivity, and reduce operating costs to employers. If we are successful, our new proposal would make it easier for staff members whose jobs can be done remotely to get an FWA, and it would require that the administration demonstrate a bona fide operational need in order to make changes to existing agreements without the staff member's consent.

In addition, we made good progress with ongoing, productive discussions about seven other proposals. We are very close to getting tentative agreements (TAs) on a few others, but in this session we reached a TA on Union Rights, which will help us to build an effective union to represent all staff!  This TA will give our union access to certain university facilities in order to conduct meetings and to administer our contract after it is ratified. It will also provide staff members with access to union info and resources from links that will be posted on the HR website.

Many of us remain very worried about the cuts to the NIH indirect costs (and more recently the cuts to the NSF) that are threatening staff member's jobs and well-being. Our international union has organized several opportunities for us to engage with our elected representatives already, and the next one is a lobby day in Harrisburg on June 9-10. More info can be found here. The statement that the USW presented to the US Senate Appropriations committee at their hearing on biomedical research is here. We’re glad we are facing these challenging times united in our union.

Also, it’s open enrollment season for our benefits, and we're happy to report that while healthcare costs are increasing for non-represented staff, the costs for bargaining unit staff will remain the same for the next year.

If you haven’t already done so, sign your union card today at this link: https://www3.usw.org/OrgPittStaff/. No dues will be taken until our contract is ratified!

In Solidarity,

Your Pitt Staff Bargaining Committee 

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, PCI/NSABP
Robin Sowards, USW
Matt Nader, USW
Nate Kilbert, USW
Don Shaffer, USW
Bernie Hall, Director, USW