By SUSAN JONES
Pitt staff have voted in favor of being represented by the United Steelworkers union, but will be split into two bargaining units of professional and nonprofessional employees. The Staff Union of Pitt will hold online informational meetings in the next two weeks to explain what comes next.
Around 6,300 full- and regular part-time staff members from all campuses were eligible to vote in the election that ran from Aug. 15 to Sept. 19, but less than half — around 2,900 — sent in a ballot, according to the USW.
The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board started counting the ballots on Sept. 25 and announced the results Sept. 27.
The eligible voters were split into two groups — professional and nonprofessional employees, who received separate ballots. The vote tallies were:
-
Of the 5,000 in the professional group, 1,566 (68.7%) voted for the union and 711 voted against.
-
Of the 1,300 in the nonprofessional group, 471 (74%) voted for the union and 165 voted no.
Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, a member of the Staff Union of Pitt volunteer organizing committee and a senior development associate for Pitt Philanthropic & Alumni Engagement/Health Sciences, said that even though Pitt’s staff is large and diverse, “compensation emerged as one of the main priorities across our bargaining unit during the organizing campaign. Many staff at Pitt are rapidly losing ground as the costs of housing, transportation, child care and health care increase much faster than wages.”
The large margin of victory, she said, showed what she saw before the election. “I encountered staff who really enjoyed and valued their jobs at Pitt, and they yearned for the administration to offer compensation and career pathways that allowed them to continue working here with a sense of security.”
Emilee Ruhland, global communications strategist at the University Center for International Studies, has been involved in staff union organizing for two years. She said she thinks staff voted for the union because they want to be “involved in decisions about our working conditions. I know that, at least for me, it’s important that we secure the benefits that we have here at Pitt. Our benefits, like the retirement matching options, are one of the most competitive parts of the benefits package that I’ve seen.
“As a union, we are now able to guarantee those incredible benefits with a contract.”
The University said on its staffunionization.pitt.edu website: “We have always maintained that this was a decision for staff to make. The University remains committed to maintaining an environment where all staff can thrive professionally.
“In the coming weeks and months, we will begin preparing for collective bargaining negotiations with the staff union. While the bargaining process for first contracts can be complex, we remain committed to providing our staff and the Pitt community with current information.”
Only those on the professional list got to vote on whether the professional and nonprofessional employees should be one bargaining unit or two separate ones. While the vote to unionize is decided by a simple majority of those who vote, the vote to determine whether there would be a combined bargaining unit needed to be approved by a majority of the total professionals eligible to vote.
A USW spokesperson said of those who voted, there was a strong preference for a combined bargaining unit, but the votes did not reach the 2,500 threshold needed. The USW said it still intends to bargain both units together.
What comes next?
The next step is for the union to form a bargaining committee. The committee will comprise Pitt staff members, the USW District 10 director and other USW technical staff. All Pitt staff in the bargaining unit will be able to nominate and vote on the committee.
Three online meetings will feature USW District Director Bernie Hall and Pitt’s USW staff representative Matt Nader, who will discuss what to expect in the union’s first contract negotiations. The meetings are (click on each link to register):
The union also will talk about the importance of all staff filling out an upcoming bargaining priorities survey so “the elected negotiators are pursuing the goals that are the most impactful to Pitt staff,” Madonna-Emmerling said.
A union-built communication and action team will promote union achievements and activities so staff have someone to go to with questions.
Both the Union of Pitt Staff (pittstaffunion.org) and the University (staffunionization.pitt.edu) have websites set up that deal with many questions staff might have.
One frequent question for those in the bargaining unit is, “Do I have to join the union and pay dues?” A Supreme Court ruling in 2018 (Janus v. AFSCME) said that public employees in Pennsylvania are not required to pay union dues as a condition of employment. If you don’t join the union, you won’t be able to vote on the contract when it is completed, but you will still be subject to its conditions.
What happens during bargaining?
For the Union of Pitt Faculty, the collective bargaining process took more than 2.5 years from when faculty voted to join the USW in October 2021 to when the contract was ratified in May 2024.
One of the issues faculty confronted during that time, and that staff likely will now, is where do issues that will fall under bargaining — such as salary and benefits — stand in the interim. During negotiations, the University is required to maintain the status quo for wages and other benefits for employees in the bargaining unit.
During the first year of negotiations on the faculty contract in 2022, the Union of Pitt Faculty agreed to a memorandum of understanding that allowed the raise pool set by the Board of Trustees to apply to members in the bargaining unit. But last year the union, in an effort to pressure the University to reach an agreement, did not let the raises go through. Once a contract was ratified, faculty received some back pay.
The other area that will be impacted is shared governance. In the case of the faculty union, Faculty Assembly and Senate Council were hamstrung during the early months of negotiations because several University representatives to Senate committees were not able to attend meetings or talk about issues that might be associated with collective bargaining.
Those restrictions have eased up some, as the union, Senate and administration have come to an understanding of what can and can’t be discussed. In addition, the Senate represents numerous School of Medicine faculty members who are not part of the bargaining unit.
As of fall 2023, Pitt had 8,800 staff employees. Of those, around 800 are already represented by unions, such as Pitt Police, grounds crews and housekeeping workers. With 6,300 now in the USW bargaining unit, that leaves 1,700 outside of any union representation.
Staff Council, which has represented staff in shared governance, remained neutral on the unionization efforts and encouraged eligible staff to exercise their voting rights, said Lindsay Rodzwicz, Staff Council president.
“We are respectful of the decision that the eligible staff have made to become members of the USW,” she said. “Just as the Faculty Senate continues to co-exist with a faculty union representing a portion of the faculty, the same model will exist for Staff Council’s continued active participation in shared governance of the University.
“Staff Council will continue in our mission to advocate for and advance the interests of staff members across the institution while providing opportunities for professional development,” she added.
This latest staff unionization effort started in 2021, but really picked up steam in fall 2022. Union organizers filed cards with the PLRB in June 2023 seeking an election.
In February, graduate student workers filed for a union election, also to be represented by the USW, and await a decision from the PLRB. On Sept. 10, the University sent a list of eligible graduate students to the PLRB and the United Steelworkers.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
Have a story idea or news to share? Share it with the University Times.