Op-Ed | A staff union will safeguard Pitt’s vital work

By Leah McKown, Research Project Manager • August 26, 2024

We are fighting for fairness in promotion and advancement, and we seek a level of transparency and consistency around work rules that will match the scrupulous precision that scientists, researchers and lab technicians bring to Pitt’s groundbreaking research projects.

A guide to ongoing negotiations between Pitt’s administration, campus union efforts

By Emma Hannan and Abby Lipold • February 23, 2024

Pitt union organizations are continuing their negotiations with the Pitt administration and Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board over labor rights issues.

Amos Hall Starbucks baristas strike in response to ‘mismanagement’

By Bella Markovitz, Staff Writer • September 11, 2023

The baristas at the Amos Hall Starbucks knew that August 24 would be especially busy, as it was both move-in day for Amos Hall and the launch of Starbucks’ fall menu. That’s exactly why they chose that day to strike.

“Truly a historic day”: Organizers file for Pitt staff union election

By Jack Troy, Senior Staff Writer • June 7, 2023

Pitt staff are on the path to becoming Pennsylvania’s largest public sector workforce to unionize in decades after organizers submitted enough signatures to the state labor board to trigger a vote.

Pitt grad union organizers, emboldened by labor wins across academia, escalate efforts

By Jack Troy, Senior Staff Writer • April 10, 2023

Graduate students at Yale, Johns Hopkins, Syracuse and several other large universities have unionized with more than 90% support in the last six months, sparking hope among organizers for a similar victory at Pitt.

Satire | A send-off letter to Ann B. Dudd

By Paul Beer, Staff Columnist • April 9, 2023

She will be missed, for above all, Ms. Dudd was an ally for every Pitt student — big or small, Black or white, trans or Nazi.

Editorial | We stand with Temple’s striking graduate students

By The Pitt News Editorial Board • February 13, 2023

At the end of January, graduate students at Temple University — a school with about 10,000 graduate students — took to the street to peacefully demand better benefits. Their efforts were met with increasing resistance from the university, which withheld tuition and health care benefits for about 100 graduate students on strike.

‘Union town’: Coffee Tree employees rally the day before unionization vote begins

By Clare Sheedy, Contributing Editor • January 30, 2022

A crowd of over 50 people gathered Sunday at the Coffee Tree Roasters location in Shadyside to show their support for employee unionization efforts a day before the union vote.

Opinion | You know what tastes better than Starbucks? Unionization.

By Grace DeLallo, Assistant Opinions Editor • January 19, 2022

Starbucks should prioritize unionization for all of their stores instead of fighting it — putting better working conditions and protections ahead of capitalist pursuits at the expense of its workers. Although there is such a long way to go in the fight against big businesses and capitalism exploiting workers, we must have solidarity within the working class if we are to see any meaningful change in the next decade or so.

Pitt’s spending on ‘union avoidance’ law firm nears $3M

By Neena Hagen, Senior Staff Writer • January 11, 2022

University administrators continued to pay large sums of money to a “union avoidance” law firm, with total payouts approaching $3 million, according to financial disclosures.