By SUSAN JONES

More than two years after faculty voted to unionize under the United Steelworkers and 20 months since bargaining officially began on the Union of Pitt Faculty’s first contract, negotiations continue down the road, but not without some bumps along the way.

The latest is the USW filing unfair labor practice charges on Nov. 27 with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board in response to what the union says is Pitt administration’s “unlawful conduct in prolonging negotiations with faculty seeking a first contract.”

Melinda Ciccocioppo, a lecturer in the psychology department who chairs the union’s communication and action team, said they wanted to “send a very clear message to the administration that this is not acceptable, and we expect a faster pace of bargaining, especially as we're trying to wrap things up here, and talking about economics, which is a very big deal.”

The University said in response that “the administration has engaged in good faith negotiations with the faculty union since December 2021. Through that period the parties have entered into 19 tentative agreements, including reaching tentative agreement on core issues related to greater job security protections for bargaining unit faculty members, workload, performance evaluations, discipline and discharge, grievance and arbitration, health and safety and union access, among other issues.”

The administration said it “has engaged in robust discussions with the union on outstanding proposals at each bargaining session and has responded to all issues raised during bargaining. Although there remain a number of outstanding proposals between the parties, the University remains committed to reaching an agreement through the collective bargaining process."

A study released this year by two Cornell researchers and one from the University of Windsor in Canada found that among 226 NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) representation elections in 2018, 63 percent of unions failed to reach a first contract within one year of winning their election, and 43 percent were still working without a first contract after two years. 

One of the issues the union cited in its filing with the PLRB was the lack of response from the University on the union’s proposal on research support, which it submitted in November 2022. The union says its proposal would “protect current programs for research incentives, create new transparency around the distribution of indirects, walk back salary reduction policies and soft money requirements, and develop a new system for bridge funding for faculty who experience gaps or delays in external research funding.”

At the negotiating session on Nov. 28, the administration rejected the research support proposal, but offered no counterproposal, which the union said is “a position that they could have taken at any point over the last year.”

Ciccocioppo said a group from the union filled up the hallway outside Chancellor Joan Gabel’s office on Nov. 16 to deliver a letter “basically saying that we expected a counter to our compensation proposal to be presented during the bargaining session the next day.” Ciccocioppo said the chancellor “was very cordial and she said that she appreciates all of our work and that she also would like to see a speedy conclusion to bargaining, except the compensation counter that they gave us does not necessarily communicate that.”

On compensation

The University did respond to the compensation proposal the union submitted in September 2022 at the Nov. 17 meeting, Ciccocioppo said.

The union is seeking 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. Pitt’s counterproposal is “is not enough and also not acceptable,” Ciccocioppo said.

The administration offer was for a 3 percent annual raise, Ciccocioppo said, that would be effective upon ratification of the contract, not retroactive to July 1, 2023. In late July this year, the Board of Trustees set the salary pool for non-represented staff and faculty at 3 percent, with an extra 1 percent for merit, market and equity-based increases. Pitt employees received the raises in their September paychecks, but they were retroactive to July 1.

On benefits

The union disputes the way Pitt handles faculty who were classified as administrators, therefore not part of the union bargaining unit, during the health insurance open enrollment period, but have since moved out of administrative roles and are now covered by the union.

Non-represented faculty, along with staff, saw an average 6.4 percent premium increase; the merger of two plans; and a new deductible for Panther Gold starting July 1, 2023. For bargaining unit faculty, all costs and plans have remained the same as last fiscal year while contract negotiations are ongoing. The union believes faculty whose positions have changed should be allowed to update their insurance, just as if they had gotten married or had a child.  

Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.

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