BARGAINING
UPDATES

October 16, 2025

Key Takeaways

• We reached a tentative agreement  on the Impact of Technology.

• We had productive discussions over several proposals and made some progress toward getting to an agreement on Provisional Periods.

• We reiterated our desire to continue working on certain proposals that they have not responded to for several months, including Career Advancement and Seniority and Layoffs.

Your bargaining committee met with the administration  on October 15, 2025 for a productive session. While utilization of technology is not a mandatory subject of bargaining according to the law, employers do have an obligation to meet and discuss the potential impact that technological changes could have on  bargaining unit employees. Our Tentative Agreement on the Impact of Technology reinforces this obligation under PERA §702 and locks in basic protections for our personal information.

We are making progress on getting to an agreement over the general structure for provisional periods, but we continue to hold firm to our belief that additional provisional periods should not be imposed if a staff member is promoted, reclassified, or transferred. To this end, we had submitted a Career Advancement proposal in June that outlined and defined our vision and expectations for how promotions, reclassifications, and transfers should be  handled. We reiterated to the administration that these discussions need to continue, and they agreed to provide a response to us soon.

We also expressed our goal to come to an agreement regarding Seniority and Layoffs before we get deeper into the economic discussions.  Among the main points of this proposal, we are asking that staff members who are laid off will retain their seniority (years of service) for up to two years, and will be preferred over outside candidates when applying to open positions for which they are qualified. The University's last counter was in May, but they confirmed that they are willing to bargain with us over this, so we look forward to receiving a response soon.

Our next bargaining session is October 29. We are hopeful that we will continue to make progress toward a fair contract for all staff. If you have questions, we're always happy to answer them, and if you’d like to get involved, we’ll welcome your support! Please reach out to ask a member of our communication and action team (CAT) or email staffunionofpitt@usw.org. Staff Union of Pitt - We make Pitt Work!

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
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