You Care About Your Family, Pitt Should Too
The Covid pandemic has only highlighted Pitt’s indifference towards faculty and their loved ones by showing the inadequacy of the existing policies. Benefits you can’t access aren’t real benefits, and for part-time faculty, Pitt fails entirely.
Our union could change all of this. Once we’re organized, the administration will be legally obligated to negotiate with us about benefits like the ones listed below. We know Pitt can do better, and by coming together, we can make important changes to help Pitt faculty and our families.
Our union could change all of this. Once we’re organized, the administration will be legally obligated to negotiate with us about benefits like the ones listed below. We know Pitt can do better, and by coming together, we can make important changes to help Pitt faculty and our families.
Family Issues |
Part-Time Faculty* |
Non-Tenure Stream |
Tenure Stream |
Tenured |
Affordable Access to University Child Development Center (UCDC) |
No |
Yes, but the current waitlist is years-long, and it is often still unaffordable for many families. |
Yes, but the current waitlist is years-long, and it is often still unaffordable for many families. |
Yes, but the current waitlist is years-long, and it is often still unaffordable for many families. |
Unpaid FMLA Leave |
No |
It depends** |
It depends** |
It depends** |
Paid Kinship Care Leave (sick spouse, partner, parent, etc.) |
No |
It depends** |
It depends** |
It depends** |
Paid Parental Leave |
No |
4 weeks, in theory*** |
4 weeks, in theory*** |
4 weeks, in theory*** |
Vacation Time |
No |
It depends** |
It depends** |
It depends** |
Paid Sick Days |
No |
No |
No |
No |
In-writing promise that time off won’t affect promotion/retention |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Clarity Regarding Leave and Medical Policies |
No |
No |
No |
No |
*Part-time tenured faculty and some part-time library faculty may be eligible for medical or family leave similar to full-time faculty.
**Some types of leave are hypothetically available to most full-time faculty, contingent upon 24 months of consecutive employment. In practice, access to these types of leave are often dependent upon one’s relationship with their chair, the chair’s interpretation of unclear policy language, or even the chair or department’s standing with senior administration.
***While faculty are eligible 4 weeks of parental leave on paper, many are pressured to try to have children only during the summer term or to continue working during their four weeks of leave. Others have effectively been denied some of their leave because the timing was inconvenient (i.e. the child was born right before the start of a semester, or right at the end).
You don’t have to take our word for it! Pitt’s policies on family care and leave are described at the links: https://www.facultyhandbook.pitt.edu/faculty-medical-and-family-leave-policy https://www.hr.pitt.edu/current-employees/benefits/leaves https://www.hr.pitt.edu/node/633
Visit pittfaculty.org to learn more about how our union can make Pitt a better, more family-friendly place for us to work. Let us know you plan to vote Yes at pittfaculty.org/join!
**Some types of leave are hypothetically available to most full-time faculty, contingent upon 24 months of consecutive employment. In practice, access to these types of leave are often dependent upon one’s relationship with their chair, the chair’s interpretation of unclear policy language, or even the chair or department’s standing with senior administration.
***While faculty are eligible 4 weeks of parental leave on paper, many are pressured to try to have children only during the summer term or to continue working during their four weeks of leave. Others have effectively been denied some of their leave because the timing was inconvenient (i.e. the child was born right before the start of a semester, or right at the end).
You don’t have to take our word for it! Pitt’s policies on family care and leave are described at the links: https://www.facultyhandbook.pitt.edu/faculty-medical-and-family-leave-policy https://www.hr.pitt.edu/current-employees/benefits/leaves https://www.hr.pitt.edu/node/633
Visit pittfaculty.org to learn more about how our union can make Pitt a better, more family-friendly place for us to work. Let us know you plan to vote Yes at pittfaculty.org/join!
