Pitt staff join United Steelworkers union

About 6,300 employees on the University of Pittsburgh’s main and branch campuses are joining the United Steelworkers union, officials confirmed Friday after votes were tallied in a monthlong, state-supervised election.

The union will work to secure a collective bargaining agreement between those workers and Pitt, Western Pennsylvania’s largest university.

Results were tabulated in Harrisburg at the offices of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, which oversaw the election. Those results cover professional and nonprofessional workers in Oakland and branches at Pitt-Greensburg, Pitt-Johnstown, Pitt-Bradford and Pitt-Titusville.

Pitt faculty already belong to the Steelworkers, and graduate student workers are awaiting a union election of their own, once officials set the dates.

“Staff at Pitt have finally achieved what all workers deserve — a collective voice and the ability to take part in decisions that affect our work,” said Emilee Ruhland, a Global Communications Strategist in the University Center for International Studies. “It’s been a long road, but ultimately our solidarity carried us through to this historic moment.

“This will make Pitt a more secure workplace and a better place to get an education,” Ruhland added.

The Steelworkers needed a majority plus one vote to prevail. It did not provide a specific vote breakdown, but, in a statement, said “a strong majority voted in favor of joining the union.”

Pitt leaders, including its chancellor, Joan Gabel, have said they respect the collective bargaining process. The university acknowledged the result Friday on its website. It said there will be two bargaining units, one for professional staff and the other for nonprofessional staff. Both are represented by the Steelworkers.

“We have always maintained that this was a decision for staff to make,” the statement read in part. “The University remains committed to maintaining an environment where all staff can thrive professionally.”

The employees include advisers, researchers, scientists, library and technology specialists, accountants, educators, designers, counselors and administrative professionals.

Efforts to unionize staff at Pitt began in 2021. Organizers had to secure signed cards from at least 30% of the potential bargaining unit indicating they supported the union. The card drive exceeded the threshold by an unspecified number, Steelworkers spokesman Jess Kamm has said.

In July, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, senior development associate in Pitt’s Division of Philanthropic and Alumni Engagement, told TribLive she and colleagues want more transparency in pay and promotion decisions, as well as other aspects of their workplace environment, including job security.

“Whenever I speak to older colleagues, they’re concerned that, at any moment, they can be replaced with someone younger and cheaper,” she said. “There’s really no seniority or tenure protections, and that’s a concern for people reaching the end of their career.”

This year, 3,400 faculty members on the five Pitt campuses secured their first labor pact with Pitt, which runs through June 30, 2026. Graduate student workers, meanwhile, are waiting for the PLRB to authorize their own election.

“This win belongs to every staff member who stood together for a stronger, more inclusive Pitt,” said USW District 10 Director Bernie Hall, who represents about 50,000 members in Pennsylvania. “When workers have a voice, the entire university thrives — from the classrooms to the community that calls it home.”