BARGAINING
UPDATES

September 11, 2025

Key Takeaways

• We are making progress toward getting to an agreement on several topics.

• We think that bargaining unit staff deserve clear, accurate communication from the administration.

• We have a community service project planned! This is a great opportunity to meet your fellow union members while making and distributing brown bag lunches to our unhoused neighbors.

On September 11, 2025, your bargaining team met with the administration. We engaged in productive discussions regarding several proposals, including Health and Safety, Provisional Periods, Flexible Work Arrangements, and Impact of Technology, making incremental progress toward an agreement. Additionally, we presented our first counter to the administration’s Management Rights proposal, and they presented their first counter to our Workplace Violence proposal.  

We were incredibly disappointed that the administration reiterated their previous statement regarding academic freedom; they contend that it is not applicable to staff. Our proposal would protect bargaining unit staff from discipline or other adverse treatment that could result from the exercise of their professional judgment in carrying out their assigned teaching or research responsibilities, unless their conduct violates university policies or the ethical standards of their profession. We think that this is a very reasonable and appropriate thing to ask for!  

On September 2, bargaining unit staff members received an email communication from Vice Chancellor for Human Resources James W. Gallaher, Jr., PhD. This email contained phrasing that was confusing, prompting many of you to reach out to us for clarification.  While it correctly mentioned that wage increases are a mandatory subject of bargaining and that negotiations about raises are ongoing, the email also indicated that represented staff would not receive a raise in this fiscal year, which was misleading. The timing and amount of raises for represented staff will depend on our negotiations. We asked the University to retract or clarify this statement, which they did not, so we have filed an unfair labor practice charge against the University.

Lastly, we’d like to tell you about an opportunity for you to join your fellow union members in service to our community. Our event planning committee has arranged for us to partner with Community Care & Resistance in Pittsburgh (CCRIP) on September 27 and 28 to make and distribute brown bag lunches to our unhoused neighbors. You can get involved in three different ways – by purchasing items needed to prepare the lunches, by packing the bags, and/or by distributing them. Find out more and sign up at this here.

In solidarity,

Your Pitt Staff 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