Which of the following activities is illegal in a faculty union campaign?
Answer: none of the above
As you might have guessed, this was a trick question—all of these actions are in fact not just legal but specifically protected by Pennsylvania law. The Public Employe[1] Relations Act protects your right “to organize, form, join or assist in employe organizations or to engage in lawful concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid,” which is understood to include all of the activities described above. This is an extension of your fundamental rights to free speech and free association under the US Constitution.
Some administrators have recently claimed that it is illegal for you to talk about the union while on campus or to talk to a union organizer on campus. This is simply not true. The reality is that, unless you are working under circumstances in which you are barred from talking to your colleagues at all, you cannot be barred from discussing the union. In other words, while it wouldn’t be permissible to burst into someone’s classroom during a lecture to ask them to sign a union card, if you are in a setting in which you are allowed to discuss the weather, the Penguins game, or your child’s piano recital, you are allowed to talk about the union.
Similarly, any space where people are allowed to post flyers about upcoming events or activities without permission from an administrator can also be used to post information about the union. In short, you are free to attend meetings, talk with union supporters, and express your support through signs, buttons, or any other means that doesn’t prevent others from doing the important work that makes Pitt great.
Union supporters also have the right to knock on their colleagues’ home or office doors to ask if they are interested in talking about the union (obviously, faculty are also free to say “no”). We want to hear your thought about the union wherever you are most comfortable having a conversation, so feel free to reach out if you’d like us to stop by at a particular time. (Likewise, if you’d prefer we don’t visit your office or home, send us an email—we don’t want to intrude.)
Whether you are in favor of forming a union, opposed to the idea, or still making up your mind, we encourage you to look into it for yourself, and explore the pros and cons through discussions with your colleagues. We believe the final decision about forming a faculty union should be made in an informed, transparent, and democratic manner, and that all faculty points of view should be heard.
What is illegal?
There are, however, some actions that are illegal during a union campaign. The following constitute illegal retaliation under the Public Employee Relations Act, and other pertinent statutes
What should I do if my legal rights are being infringed upon?
If you have experienced any of the illegal behaviors described above, or if you know someone who has, we want to hear from you. Your Pitt colleagues and the USW are in your corner, and we will do everything we can to make sure everyone’s rights are respected. Our preference will always be to resolve any violations in an informal way, but the USW also employs a team of lawyers whose job it is to protect your right to organize if your employer proves unreasonable. We won’t make an issue of your specific circumstances without your permission, but if you are being retaliated against, we want to know. You can contact us at [email protected]
[1] The PERA spells the word employee with just one final ‘e’ throughout.
- Signing a union card
- Union supporters visiting a faculty member’s office or home
- Posting a union sign or wearing a union pin
- Faculty members talking about the union while on campus
- Attending a union meeting or event
Answer: none of the above
As you might have guessed, this was a trick question—all of these actions are in fact not just legal but specifically protected by Pennsylvania law. The Public Employe[1] Relations Act protects your right “to organize, form, join or assist in employe organizations or to engage in lawful concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid,” which is understood to include all of the activities described above. This is an extension of your fundamental rights to free speech and free association under the US Constitution.
Some administrators have recently claimed that it is illegal for you to talk about the union while on campus or to talk to a union organizer on campus. This is simply not true. The reality is that, unless you are working under circumstances in which you are barred from talking to your colleagues at all, you cannot be barred from discussing the union. In other words, while it wouldn’t be permissible to burst into someone’s classroom during a lecture to ask them to sign a union card, if you are in a setting in which you are allowed to discuss the weather, the Penguins game, or your child’s piano recital, you are allowed to talk about the union.
Similarly, any space where people are allowed to post flyers about upcoming events or activities without permission from an administrator can also be used to post information about the union. In short, you are free to attend meetings, talk with union supporters, and express your support through signs, buttons, or any other means that doesn’t prevent others from doing the important work that makes Pitt great.
Union supporters also have the right to knock on their colleagues’ home or office doors to ask if they are interested in talking about the union (obviously, faculty are also free to say “no”). We want to hear your thought about the union wherever you are most comfortable having a conversation, so feel free to reach out if you’d like us to stop by at a particular time. (Likewise, if you’d prefer we don’t visit your office or home, send us an email—we don’t want to intrude.)
Whether you are in favor of forming a union, opposed to the idea, or still making up your mind, we encourage you to look into it for yourself, and explore the pros and cons through discussions with your colleagues. We believe the final decision about forming a faculty union should be made in an informed, transparent, and democratic manner, and that all faculty points of view should be heard.
What is illegal?
There are, however, some actions that are illegal during a union campaign. The following constitute illegal retaliation under the Public Employee Relations Act, and other pertinent statutes
- It is illegal for the administration to fire you (or refuse to renew you) because you have participated in any of the activities described above.
- It is illegal for the administration to discipline or discriminate against you in any way for supporting the union—indeed, it is illegal for them even to threaten any such action.
- It is illegal for administrators to prevent you from discussing the union in circumstances in which you are free to discuss other topics.
- It is illegal for them to eject union supporters from spaces that are typically open to the public.
- It is illegal from them to promise you benefits in exchange for rejecting the union, or to refuse benefits that would have been granted were there not an organizing campaign underway.
- It is illegal for administrators to engage in surveillance of union activities, to give the impression of surveillance, or to photograph or record video of legal union activities.
What should I do if my legal rights are being infringed upon?
If you have experienced any of the illegal behaviors described above, or if you know someone who has, we want to hear from you. Your Pitt colleagues and the USW are in your corner, and we will do everything we can to make sure everyone’s rights are respected. Our preference will always be to resolve any violations in an informal way, but the USW also employs a team of lawyers whose job it is to protect your right to organize if your employer proves unreasonable. We won’t make an issue of your specific circumstances without your permission, but if you are being retaliated against, we want to know. You can contact us at [email protected]
[1] The PERA spells the word employee with just one final ‘e’ throughout.
