CONTACT: Jess Kamm Broomell, 412-562-2444, jkamm@usw.org
(Pittsburgh) – The United Steelworkers (USW) applauded today’s decision by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB), agreeing with the union that the administration-provided list of University of Pittsburgh faculty in a potential bargaining unit warrants further review.
Faculty organizers in April appealed a PLRB decision to reject their petition to form a union, citing potential irregularities with the list the university administration gave the labor board.
Today’s decision supports this claim, directing a hearing to examine the list and ordering the administration to provide the USW with the names of potential bargaining unit members they gave the PLRB.
“This decision is not surprising,” said Tyler McAndrew, a visiting lecturer in the English department. “Deliberately inflating the number of people in a potential bargaining unit is a common union avoidance tactic. It’s important that this list sees the light of day, so that Pitt faculty are able to exercise their right to vote on unionization without outside interference.”
Pitt faculty began exploring unionization in 2012 with the hope that a union would be a democratizing force on campus. They also have concerns about pay, job security and the faculty’s shrinking role in university governance.
The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors.