University of Pittsburgh Staff Vote to Join USW
University of Pittsburgh staff members today voted to become members of the United Steelworkers (USW) union and look forward to bargaining their first union contract with the school’s administration.
The United Steelworkers believe that we cannot expect to starve our public education system and expect to get the same results. We have educators and workers in elementary and secondary schools, college and universities and in recent years, their jobs and livelihoods have come under attack. Most of us are thankful for the public school system and why it worked - because it was part of the community.
University of Pittsburgh staff members today voted to become members of the United Steelworkers (USW) union and look forward to bargaining their first union contract with the school’s administration.
As Abagael West wrapped up the academic year at the University of Pittsburgh this past May, the Teaching Assistant Professor began a new chapter that was a long-time coming: one as a USW member protected by a collective bargaining agreement.
The USW today filed unfair labor practice charges with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) in response to the University of Pittsburgh administration’s failure to respond to the union’s requests for information necessary for contract bargaining.
Negotiations can only be effective when both sides participate. The administration’s relentless silence on some of the most important bargaining topics suggests it has no interest in reaching a contract.