Labor official: Pitt website, department chair email involved in unfair practices
By Emily Wolfe, News Editor
September 19, 2019
Unless the board files an exception to Helmerich’s ruling — it has 20 days to do so, in accordance with PLRB regulations — graduate students will soon vote again on the union question.
PLRB rules Pitt committed unfair labor practices, orders new grad union election
By Janine Faust, Editor-in-chief
September 18, 2019
Hearing Examiner Stephen Helmerich said in his hearing that Pitt committed “coercive acts” leading up to the vote in April about whether or not graduate students should join the Academic Workers Association of the United Steelworkers, where the outcome was 675 for a union and 712 against.
Student organizers confident as unionization decision nears
By Erica Guthrie, Assistant News Editor
August 26, 2019
Pitt and the graduate student organizers trying to establish a union at the University took their final legal step last week before the state labor board determines whether or not the University engaged in unfair labor practices during the elections held last spring.
Faculty union organizers up in arms after Pitt’s administration rejects Labor Board subpoena
By Neena Hagen, Senior Staff Writer
July 19, 2019
After ruling June 18 that the size of the bargaining unit for Pitt’s faculty union was under review, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board ordered Pitt to turn over several pieces of information to faculty union organizers — most notably, a list of faculty eligible to be in the potential bargaining unit.
PLRB hears grad student union election objection in downtown hearing
By Vaibhav Gupta, Staff Writer
May 15, 2019
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.
Pitt paid almost $240K to “union avoidance” law firm in recent years
By Jon Moss, News Editor
May 14, 2019
A “union avoidance” law firm received a large windfall of legal fees from Pitt, according to previously unreported University financial disclosure reports.
Grad students vote against unionization, organizers reissue call for new election
By Jon Moss and Neena Hagen
May 3, 2019
The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board officially declared Friday morning that the majority of graduate students at Pitt voted against unionization in the April 15-18 election.
After years-long campaign, grad students await outcome of union vote
By Neena Hagen, Senior Staff Writer
April 18, 2019
Organizers wearing pro-union T-shirts high-fived and cheered for the last few dozen graduate students as they trickled into the second-floor ballroom of the O’Hara Student Center Thursday afternoon to cast their votes in the union election. They were celebrating the culmination of a years-long campaign t...
No hearing for Pitt faculty union, organizers plan appeal
By Emily Wolfe, Assistant News Editor
April 18, 2019
The state labor relations board ruled Thursday that faculty organizers fell short in their efforts to collect signed authorization cards from faculty. Organizers plan to appeal the decision.
Grad students will decide union question starting April 15
By Joanna Li, News Editor
March 25, 2019
PLRB announced on Thursday the dates and times of polling locations on campus. The election is intended to allow more than 2,000 graduate students to vote to join a union. In order to form a union, a simple majority of the grad student population, or more than 50 percent, needs to vote yes.
Labor board affirms Pitt grad students have right to unionize
By Brian Gentry, Joanna Li, and Emily Wolfe
March 7, 2019
The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board ruled Thursday that Pitt’s graduate student employees are entitled to unionize, a step forward in graduate students’ multi-year battle to form a union.