BARGAINING UPDATE
August 10, 2022
Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to announce an agreement with the administration that creates important new protections for faculty as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, which we describe below. We know that there are a wide range of views about masking and other COVID mitigation policies among the faculty. Our priority throughout this process has been to make sure that the faculty members who are the most vulnerable have reasonable opportunities to protect themselves and their families.
As you know, in March we filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board over the administration’s failure to negotiate with us over changes to the mask mandate. This agreement resolves that charge.
These improvements would not be possible without the new legal rights we gained by voting to form a union, and without our commitment to enforcing those rights. This brought the administration to the table and motivated them to seek a reasonable agreement. To be clear, this was a negotiation: both sides brought their goals to the table, and over the course of several weeks we worked out a mutually agreeable resolution. And unlike previous workplace policies, this agreement is legally binding, so we will be able to ensure that these new protections are being implemented.
This agreement includes the following improvements:
COVID-19 work adjustments: This agreement creates a new process for faculty to request and receive reasonable adjustments to their work if they have a particular need for additional protections against COVID-19, whether due to their own risk factors or risk factors of a member of their household. For detailed information about how to request a COVID-19 work adjustment, visit COVID-19 WORK ADJUSTMENTS FOR PITT FACULTY - UNION OF PITT FACULTY.
This will not replace the existing accommodation process for accommodating faculty with qualifying disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Instead our agreement creates a new process for situations that do not fall under that statute. For example, some faculty live with a person at high risk for serious illness, but the ADA only applies to individual employees, not members of their households. Other faculty may have been denied ADA accommodations, but still have personal health reasons for needing additional COVID protections. This new process will allow faculty to request an adjustment to their work, and it commits the administration to seeking a reasonable solution.
We are confident that the administration will implement this new policy in good faith and make a sincere effort to approve adjustments that protect vulnerable faculty and their families. But one of our concerns in the past has been that determinations about COVID-19 accommodations may have been made inconsistently across the university. So this new process includes a procedure for appealing departmental decisions as well as a structure for ensuring uniform standards across the university, and it will allow the union to monitor the new policy and ensure it is being implemented fairly.
Remote office hours: The administration has agreed that individual faculty members in every unit have the right to hold office hours virtually or in an alternative location when masking is not required. While many of us already exercise this right, this has not been certain for all faculty in all schools and campuses, so it is important to affirm this as a uniform standard.
Ventilation data: We are working with the administration on accessing more complete information about filtration and ventilation in our workspaces, so that we can ensure we have the data necessary to evaluate our own risks.
Please reach out to a member of our Communication and Action Team or email us at [email protected] with any questions or concerns. We look forward to standing side by side with you as we continue to work to make our jobs better and safer.
In solidarity,
Your bargaining committee
We are pleased to announce an agreement with the administration that creates important new protections for faculty as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, which we describe below. We know that there are a wide range of views about masking and other COVID mitigation policies among the faculty. Our priority throughout this process has been to make sure that the faculty members who are the most vulnerable have reasonable opportunities to protect themselves and their families.
As you know, in March we filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board over the administration’s failure to negotiate with us over changes to the mask mandate. This agreement resolves that charge.
These improvements would not be possible without the new legal rights we gained by voting to form a union, and without our commitment to enforcing those rights. This brought the administration to the table and motivated them to seek a reasonable agreement. To be clear, this was a negotiation: both sides brought their goals to the table, and over the course of several weeks we worked out a mutually agreeable resolution. And unlike previous workplace policies, this agreement is legally binding, so we will be able to ensure that these new protections are being implemented.
This agreement includes the following improvements:
COVID-19 work adjustments: This agreement creates a new process for faculty to request and receive reasonable adjustments to their work if they have a particular need for additional protections against COVID-19, whether due to their own risk factors or risk factors of a member of their household. For detailed information about how to request a COVID-19 work adjustment, visit COVID-19 WORK ADJUSTMENTS FOR PITT FACULTY - UNION OF PITT FACULTY.
This will not replace the existing accommodation process for accommodating faculty with qualifying disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Instead our agreement creates a new process for situations that do not fall under that statute. For example, some faculty live with a person at high risk for serious illness, but the ADA only applies to individual employees, not members of their households. Other faculty may have been denied ADA accommodations, but still have personal health reasons for needing additional COVID protections. This new process will allow faculty to request an adjustment to their work, and it commits the administration to seeking a reasonable solution.
We are confident that the administration will implement this new policy in good faith and make a sincere effort to approve adjustments that protect vulnerable faculty and their families. But one of our concerns in the past has been that determinations about COVID-19 accommodations may have been made inconsistently across the university. So this new process includes a procedure for appealing departmental decisions as well as a structure for ensuring uniform standards across the university, and it will allow the union to monitor the new policy and ensure it is being implemented fairly.
Remote office hours: The administration has agreed that individual faculty members in every unit have the right to hold office hours virtually or in an alternative location when masking is not required. While many of us already exercise this right, this has not been certain for all faculty in all schools and campuses, so it is important to affirm this as a uniform standard.
Ventilation data: We are working with the administration on accessing more complete information about filtration and ventilation in our workspaces, so that we can ensure we have the data necessary to evaluate our own risks.
Please reach out to a member of our Communication and Action Team or email us at [email protected] with any questions or concerns. We look forward to standing side by side with you as we continue to work to make our jobs better and safer.
In solidarity,
Your bargaining committee
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