Disclaimer: The staff members of the University Times — editor Susan Jones and writers Shannon Wells and Marty Levine — are all on the list of eligible voters for the staff union election. Our ongoing coverage will continue to represent all sides of the unionization effort regardless of the election’s outcome.

By SUSAN JONES

Voting on whether 6,300 Pitt staff members will be represented by the United Steelworkers union got underway Aug. 15, when the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board began mailing ballots to those eligible to vote.

By now, all full-time and regular part-time professional and non-professional staff who are included in the bargaining unit should have received a ballot at the home address that’s on file with the University.

You can double check if you are eligible to vote by emailing staffunionofpitt@usw.org, or you can find the full list here. The list was created by the University and approved by the union and the PLRB.

If you are on the list and have not received a ballot, email a request for ballot to the PLRB election officers at katowens@pa.gov or jgralewski@pa.gov. You also can leave a voicemail at 717-787-1091 or 412-565-5318. The request should include your full name, correct mailing address, job title, reason for the request, type of ballot requested (professional or non-professional), and the name of your employer (University of Pittsburgh).

Most, but not all, managers and supervisors are excluded from the bargaining unit, along with employees represented by another union, faculty, graduate students with appointments, confidential employees and guards.

If you are on the list, the PLRB has determined that you are eligible to vote. Individual employees do not have standing to challenge their individual inclusion or exclusion from a unit, a PLRB spokesman said. If an employee believes they should have received a ballot but is not on the eligibility list, they may request a challenge ballot from the PLRB. 

Election details

• Completed ballots must be received by the PLRB at its Harrisburg office no later than 5 p.m. Sept. 19. 

• Only the 5,000 professional employees will receive ballots containing a question on whether the professional and nonprofessional employees should be one bargaining unit or two separate ones. (See Aug. 23 University Times story for full details.)

• The vote count will start on Sept. 25, and may take a couple days to complete.

• The results will be determined by a simple majority of those who vote, so if only 2,000 people vote, the side getting more than 1,000 will win. Both the union organizers and the University are urging everyone to vote.

• If voters decide to be represented by the USW, then everyone in the bargaining unit will be covered by any future contract, even if they choose not to join the union. The first contract could still be years off. For the Union of Pitt Faculty, it was two and a half years between when faculty voted to join the USW and when the first contract was ratified in May.

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

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