A message from your unit president
Welcome to USW 1088-04 – your union as a faculty member at Pitt!
We represent full-time faculty, part-time faculty, and librarians across all campuses at the University of Pittsburgh. By virtue of your position, you are included in our unit and the rights, benefits, and raises in our collective bargaining agreement (CBA). You can find a copy of our CBA at the CONTRACT page above. In 2024 we were able to win a salary floor for all faculty at Pitt for the first time, competitive raises, and job security for thousands of faculty.
Although you are represented by the union, you must fill out a membership card to join the union as a member. Members vote on union matters, run for union office, and pay union dues. Dues are 1.5% of our pay from Pitt and help us maintain a strong organization. A strong and diverse union membership means we can enforce our CBA, continue to make material wins at the bargaining table, and most of all ensure that our union's priorities reflect the priorities of all Pitt faculty. You can fill out a membership card by clicking the button below.
In solidarity,
Tyler Bickford
Local 1088-04 President
Welcome to USW 1088-04 – your union as a faculty member at Pitt!
We represent full-time faculty, part-time faculty, and librarians across all campuses at the University of Pittsburgh. By virtue of your position, you are included in our unit and the rights, benefits, and raises in our collective bargaining agreement (CBA). You can find a copy of our CBA at the CONTRACT page above. In 2024 we were able to win a salary floor for all faculty at Pitt for the first time, competitive raises, and job security for thousands of faculty.
Although you are represented by the union, you must fill out a membership card to join the union as a member. Members vote on union matters, run for union office, and pay union dues. Dues are 1.5% of our pay from Pitt and help us maintain a strong organization. A strong and diverse union membership means we can enforce our CBA, continue to make material wins at the bargaining table, and most of all ensure that our union's priorities reflect the priorities of all Pitt faculty. You can fill out a membership card by clicking the button below.
In solidarity,
Tyler Bickford
Local 1088-04 President
What has our Union won?
Presumptive Renewal (PR)
Full-time non-tenure-stream faculty are eligible for PR following their first appointment renewal. Part-time faculty are eligible after 3 semesters of employment at Pitt. PR means that you can assume that your appointment will be renewed provided you are doing a good job and there is work for you to do. See CBA Articles 17 & 18
Compensation
Academic Freedom
Protection of our core rights in research, teaching, extramural speech, and intramural speech.
See CBA Articles 3 and 5
Non-Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying
Affirms the right of all bargaining unit faculty members to a workplace free of discrimination, harassment, and bullying.
See CBA Article 14
Grievance Procedure
Our CBA is a legally binding document that we enforce using our grievance procedure. This procedure ensures that our hard-won rights are protected and ends, if necessary, in binding third-party arbitration. Your union steward can help you determine if there has been a violation of our contract and walk you through the grievance procedure if this is the case.
See CBA Article 8
Presumptive Renewal (PR)
Full-time non-tenure-stream faculty are eligible for PR following their first appointment renewal. Part-time faculty are eligible after 3 semesters of employment at Pitt. PR means that you can assume that your appointment will be renewed provided you are doing a good job and there is work for you to do. See CBA Articles 17 & 18
Compensation
- Full-time minimum salaries: $60,000/year for most faculty; $50,000/year for Falk faculty and visiting faculty or instructors without a terminal degree
- Part-time minimums and full-time overloads: Pittsburgh $2,500/credit; regionals $1,875/ credit
- Promotion minimums: Assistant to Associate $5,000; Associate to Full $7,500; Librarian promotions $5,000; Falk faculty promotions $2,000
Academic Freedom
Protection of our core rights in research, teaching, extramural speech, and intramural speech.
See CBA Articles 3 and 5
Non-Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying
Affirms the right of all bargaining unit faculty members to a workplace free of discrimination, harassment, and bullying.
See CBA Article 14
Grievance Procedure
Our CBA is a legally binding document that we enforce using our grievance procedure. This procedure ensures that our hard-won rights are protected and ends, if necessary, in binding third-party arbitration. Your union steward can help you determine if there has been a violation of our contract and walk you through the grievance procedure if this is the case.
See CBA Article 8
Weingarten rights
Weingarten Rights guarantee an employee the right to Union representation during a meeting with a supervisor that may lead to discipline. If you are in this situation, say the following: “If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative, officer, or steward be present at the meeting. Without representation, I choose not to answer any questions.”
Who are we?
Our union functions thanks to the work of many faculty like you. In addition to elected union leadership, we have dedicated committees who work to explain and enforce our CBA, orient new faculty, advocate for specific groups within our union, and more.
Elected unit leadership:
President: Tyler Bickford, Professor/English; [email protected]
Griever: Marcy Pierson, Teaching Associate Professor/Music; [email protected]
Secretary: Melinda Ciccocioppo, Teaching Associate Professor/Psychology; [email protected]
Committees:
Grievance: Marcy Pierson, chair
Civil and Human Rights: Ellen Lee, chair
Organizing: Melinda Ciccocioppo, chair
Workload Policies: Gretchen Aiyangar and Jeff Shook, chairs
Shared Governance: Drew Flanagan, chair
Regional Campus Advocacy: Kelli Maloy, chair
Research Stream Advocacy: Brett Andrews, chair
Women of Steel: Laura McCarthy, chair
Union stewards:
We have union stewards in nearly every department. If you have a question about the CBA, an issue with your working conditions, and/or a concern about discipline, reach out to the steward in your department. Contact union secretary Melinda Ciccocioppo if you do not know who your steward is: [email protected].
Elected unit leadership:
President: Tyler Bickford, Professor/English; [email protected]
Griever: Marcy Pierson, Teaching Associate Professor/Music; [email protected]
Secretary: Melinda Ciccocioppo, Teaching Associate Professor/Psychology; [email protected]
Committees:
Grievance: Marcy Pierson, chair
Civil and Human Rights: Ellen Lee, chair
Organizing: Melinda Ciccocioppo, chair
Workload Policies: Gretchen Aiyangar and Jeff Shook, chairs
Shared Governance: Drew Flanagan, chair
Regional Campus Advocacy: Kelli Maloy, chair
Research Stream Advocacy: Brett Andrews, chair
Women of Steel: Laura McCarthy, chair
Union stewards:
We have union stewards in nearly every department. If you have a question about the CBA, an issue with your working conditions, and/or a concern about discipline, reach out to the steward in your department. Contact union secretary Melinda Ciccocioppo if you do not know who your steward is: [email protected].
Our local union structure
As faculty at Pitt, we are part of USW Local 1088, a USW local that also includes faculty at Point Park and Robert Morris Universities. Each unit in our local (we are unit 04) has a separate contract negotiated by a bargaining committee made up of employees from that unit. As a local, we pool our dues money and members make decisions on how to spend that money together. Being part of a larger local gives us power to improve working conditions not just at Pitt, but across the Pittsburgh region.
We have 1088-04 unit meetings and 1088 local meetings once a month. Only union members can attend these meetings. When you sign a membership card you are added to our email list and will receive information about upcoming meetings, contract negotiations, and social events.
We have 1088-04 unit meetings and 1088 local meetings once a month. Only union members can attend these meetings. When you sign a membership card you are added to our email list and will receive information about upcoming meetings, contract negotiations, and social events.
Why the United Steelworkers?
In 2021, faculty at Pitt chose overwhelmingly to join the USW because it is a particularly democratic organization with goals that align with our own. The USW is headquartered in Pittsburgh and operates on the “one member, one vote” principle – your vote carries the same weight as everyone else’s!
How do we use our dues?
Union dues are 1.5% of your gross pay from Pitt. If you join our union, dues will be automatically deducted from your paycheck. You will only pay dues when you are receiving a paycheck from Pitt. Here is how each dollar is split up.
- 44 cents comes back to our local faculty union. Our members directly decide how to allocate this money.
- 44 cents goes to the international union for day-to-day operations.
- 7 cents goes toward the strike fund. A healthy strike fund gives us leverage at the bargaining table.
- 3 cents goes to organizing, to help new members join the USW.
- 1 cent goes toward legislative action that helps our members directly. Dues money cannot and will never be used to support political candidates.
- 1 cent goes towards education, to train union members in union leadership, health and safety, and civil rights.
Solidarity.
The strength of our union depends on the participation and engagement of our members. We hope that you will sign a membership card today and help us continue to make Pitt a better place to work and learn!
