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.”
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.
Nestled in a small office in downtown’s Piatt Place building, a group of lawyers debated the future of Pitt graduate student unionization Tuesday and Wednesday.
With at least six months until Pitt organizers’ third attempt at a faculty union, Pitt administration and faculty are deep in a debate over the merits of unionization. Faculty say they’re gearing up for a battle.
