Pitt offered faculty a one-year tenure clock extension in March, and grad union organizers said they see a funding extension as equivalent assistance for them.
After months of hearings, appeals and legal disputes between Pitt and graduate student union organizers, Pat Healy, an organizer and Ph.D. student, said the road to a possible graduate student union has been “tiring.”
Since the graduate and faculty union campaigns launched in 2016, Pitt has paid more than $1.3 million to “union avoidance” legal giant Ballard Spahr — an average of $328,000 per year.
A “union avoidance” law firm continues to receive a large windfall of legal fees from Pitt, recently passing $1 million, according to University financial disclosure reports.
Student Government Board unanimously passed a resolution at its Tuesday night meeting calling on support for University labor and rights to organize without unlawful intrusion.
Just days after a Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board official ruled that Pitt committed unfair labor practices during April’s graduate student union election and ordered a new election, union organizers said they are gearing up for a second election sometime this semester.
After several years of campaigning, rallying and dealing with University opposition, Pitt’s graduate students will vote on whether or not to form a union this week.
