By SUSAN JONES
On Dec. 6, members of the Union of Pitt Faculty presented a letter at the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Hari Sastry, calling on Sastry to “give approval to the administration to make $60,000 the (salary) floor for all faculty at Pitt.”
It’s unclear what power Sastry has to set salaries for faculty or give approval to the administration’s bargaining committee. The Board of Trustees sets the annual pool for salary raises each year when it approves the budget.
The union has been negotiating for nearly a year with Pitt’s administration to finalize its first contract, which will apply to around 3,000 faculty members.
The letter from the union points out that the administration in February 2021 publicly committed to making changes to live up to the University’s Salary Increase Policy, which requires that raises be pegged to inflation and salaries keep up with Pitt’s peers.
The letter also notes that in April 2023, when Joan Gabel was announced as Pitt’s new chancellor at a salary of $950,000 annually, the chair of the Board of Trustees said that the board was “aware that many of our faculty and staff salaries need to be adjusted to remain competitive with our AAU peers. And we are committed to supporting the ongoing efforts of the administration to close the gap.”
The University did not reply directly to the union letter’s demands, but said in a statement: “In the context of collective bargaining, it is a back-and-forth process between the union and the University, and their designated representatives. The University, through its representatives, will continue to bargain in good faith with the Union and its representatives, including over compensation. The administration has engaged in robust discussions with the union on outstanding proposals at each bargaining session and continues to respond to all issues raised during bargaining. The University remains committed to reaching an agreement through the collective bargaining process.”
In September 2022, the union proposed an annual maintenance increases of 8.3 percent per year, to keep up with the increasing cost of living, a $60,000 a year salary floor for full-time faculty (pro-rated for part-time) and other experience and promotion raises.
The University’s counteroffer last month included a $60,000 salary floor but excluded full-time faculty in the Falk Laboratory School, who would get a minimum of $40,000, and full-time faculty with “instructor” or “visiting” titles. Part-time faculty would get a minimum of $1,300 per credit on the Oakland campus and $750 on the regional campuses.
The University’s plan would give 3 percent raises when the contract is ratified, but they would not be retroactive to July 1, 2023, when the rest of Pitt employee raises kicked in. In addition, bargaining unit members would get 1.5 percent raises on July 1, 2024, and 2025, or higher if the Board of Trustees approves a salary pool increase of more than 1.5 percent.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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