COMMUNICATION & ACTION TEAM (CAT) UPDATE
February 1, 2023
Dear Colleagues,
Our Bargaining Committee is working hard and we’re heartened by the recent progress at the bargaining table on non-economic items. At the same time, we will need to keep the pressure on to move forward on the issues that are most important to us. Our Union’s power comes from us and action by all of us is necessary to make progress at the table.
As you know, Provost Cudd has declared this the “Year of Emotional Well-being” at the University of Pittsburgh. Fair pay is important to our emotional well-being. More than just providing a means to survive, pay communicates the values of an institution. The university works because we do. We deserve to be paid fairly for our work.
The compensation article our Bargaining Committee proposed last semester lays out our vision of fair pay. It is important to note that our Bargaining Committee developed this proposal with careful consideration to the sustainability of our institution, and these proposed pay increases are reasonable given Pitt’s operating budget surplus, which was $129 million last year. Similarly, the majority of Pitt’s ballooning $5.5 billion endowment is unrestricted. We are simply asking for a fair share of Pitt’s growing resources.We have not yet received a counterproposal from the administration that details their plan for compensating faculty for our work.
Fair pay means professional salaries. Our proposal calls for a floor of $60,000 a year for all full-time faculty regardless of title or contract length. This number is based on cost of living estimates for our region and the fact that we all have advanced degrees and expertise in our fields. Currently about 18% of full-time faculty at Pitt earn less than this amount.
Fair pay means equal pay for equal work. Students pay the same tuition regardless of whether a class is taught by a full-time faculty member or a part-time faculty member. Yet part-time faculty are often paid substantially less than other faculty to do the same work. Part-time faculty are valuable members of our campus community and deserve to be paid commensurate with the work they do. This means the salary floor for full-time faculty should also cover part-time faculty, on a pro-rated basis.
We also know that factors such as racism, sexism, and salary compression can result in individual faculty members earning less for their work than their peers. We propose a fair and transparent process through which individual faculty members can resolve these inequities as they arise.
Fair pay means sustainable salaries. In recent years, our annual cost of living adjustments have not kept up with inflation. This means that we have been essentially taking a pay cut each year. Faculty deserve wages that keep pace with inflation so that we can live comfortably with a long-term career in academia. We call for annual cost of living adjustments that keep pace with inflation.
We know this is going to be a fight. If the administration wanted to pay us fairly they would have done so by now. In order to achieve fair pay we have to demonstrate that we are united in our support for this proposal. You can read more about what fair pay means to Pitt faculty members on our website.
To find out how you can show your support, talk to a Communication and Action Team member in your area or email us at info@pittfaculty.org.
In Solidarity,
Your Communication and Action Team
Melinda Ciccociopo
Teaching Associate Professor of Psychology|
Oakland campus
Communication and Action Team Chair
Our Bargaining Committee is working hard and we’re heartened by the recent progress at the bargaining table on non-economic items. At the same time, we will need to keep the pressure on to move forward on the issues that are most important to us. Our Union’s power comes from us and action by all of us is necessary to make progress at the table.
As you know, Provost Cudd has declared this the “Year of Emotional Well-being” at the University of Pittsburgh. Fair pay is important to our emotional well-being. More than just providing a means to survive, pay communicates the values of an institution. The university works because we do. We deserve to be paid fairly for our work.
The compensation article our Bargaining Committee proposed last semester lays out our vision of fair pay. It is important to note that our Bargaining Committee developed this proposal with careful consideration to the sustainability of our institution, and these proposed pay increases are reasonable given Pitt’s operating budget surplus, which was $129 million last year. Similarly, the majority of Pitt’s ballooning $5.5 billion endowment is unrestricted. We are simply asking for a fair share of Pitt’s growing resources.We have not yet received a counterproposal from the administration that details their plan for compensating faculty for our work.
Fair pay means professional salaries. Our proposal calls for a floor of $60,000 a year for all full-time faculty regardless of title or contract length. This number is based on cost of living estimates for our region and the fact that we all have advanced degrees and expertise in our fields. Currently about 18% of full-time faculty at Pitt earn less than this amount.
Fair pay means equal pay for equal work. Students pay the same tuition regardless of whether a class is taught by a full-time faculty member or a part-time faculty member. Yet part-time faculty are often paid substantially less than other faculty to do the same work. Part-time faculty are valuable members of our campus community and deserve to be paid commensurate with the work they do. This means the salary floor for full-time faculty should also cover part-time faculty, on a pro-rated basis.
We also know that factors such as racism, sexism, and salary compression can result in individual faculty members earning less for their work than their peers. We propose a fair and transparent process through which individual faculty members can resolve these inequities as they arise.
Fair pay means sustainable salaries. In recent years, our annual cost of living adjustments have not kept up with inflation. This means that we have been essentially taking a pay cut each year. Faculty deserve wages that keep pace with inflation so that we can live comfortably with a long-term career in academia. We call for annual cost of living adjustments that keep pace with inflation.
We know this is going to be a fight. If the administration wanted to pay us fairly they would have done so by now. In order to achieve fair pay we have to demonstrate that we are united in our support for this proposal. You can read more about what fair pay means to Pitt faculty members on our website.
To find out how you can show your support, talk to a Communication and Action Team member in your area or email us at info@pittfaculty.org.
In Solidarity,
Your Communication and Action Team
Melinda Ciccociopo
Teaching Associate Professor of Psychology|
Oakland campus
Communication and Action Team Chair
|
