IT S TIME TO GET ORGANIZED. SUPPORT WORKERS RIGHTS CREATE A MORE DEMOCRATIC UNIVERSITY ENSURE THE BEST INSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH POSSIBLE Because Everyone at Pitt Needs a Graduate Student Employee Union.
We are graduate students from across disciplines who recognize that all departments have unique working conditions. We have come together to identify individual and common grievances, as well as examples of favorable working conditions and environments that we should work to extend to, and secure for, all graduate students in all departments. We believe in a democratic workplace, fair working conditions and compensation for hours worked, and transparent policies. As graduate students we are also employees. We contribute to the extraordinary teaching and groundbreaking research of the University of Pittsburgh we should be recognized for our indispensable role. We need a union of graduate student workers to create and maintain a more fair, democratic workplace; we need the right to collective bargaining. Unions give us a voice that we would not otherwise have. The university needs a union because a union provides legal power to secure and retain benefits like health care, leaves of absence, and salaries. Academic working conditions are student learning conditions. As educators, let s fight for the best of both! We are joining a national movement of graduate students across the country including Columbia, Berkeley, NYU, University of Wisconsin - Madison, and University of Connecticut. Over the next several months we are going to be actively working to connect with students and have a conversation about your experiences as grad student employees in your department, and what you think needs to change, as well as what you would like to preserve. Towards a democratic workplace, towards worker rights, and a better university for all! - The Graduate Student Organizing Committee
DID YOU KNOW? The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges located at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the university's central administration and 28,649 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students (University of Pittsburgh Fact Book, 2016 - http://www.ir.pitt.edu/factbook/documents/factbook2016.pdf) Currently, 3,000 graduate students from across these schools are employed by the University to serve as instructors, research assistants, and administrative supports, among other jobs. (University of Pittsburgh Fact Book, 2016 - http://www.ir.pitt.edu/factbook/documents/factbook2016.pdf) As of 2011, in the US, 75.9 percent of instructional personnel (including graduate student employee appointments) were off the tenure track, and 60.5 percent of faculty appointments were part- time appointments off the tenure track. ( Trends in Instructional Staff Employment Status, 1975-2011, American Association of University Professors - http://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/files/aaup_report_instrstaff- 75-11_apr2013.pdf) Meanwhile, tuition costs are rapidly increasing two- thirds of American students carry a debt burden of about $32,000! but this has not resulted in fair compensation for the people who are keeping the university running graduate employees and other part- time instructors. (Project on Student Debt, Private Loans: Facts and Trends. Washington, DC: Project on Student Debt, 2011). The average part- time instructor at Pitt is only paid $3400 per course. And many graduate student workers and other part- time instructors are living below or just above the federal poverty line and are dependent on programs like Food Stamps and Medicaid to supplement their earnings (The Adjunct Project, http://adjunct.chronicle.com/entity/?entity=college&id=3218). IS THIS FAIR FOR THE GRADUATE EMPLOYEES AND PART- TIME INSTRUCTORS THAT KEEP OUR UNIVERSITY RUNNING? OR BENEFICIAL FOR THE STUDENTS WE EDUCATE AND THE RESEARCH OR OTHER PROJECTS THAT WE WORK ON?
The Teaching Assistants Association (TAA) marching down State Street in downtown Madison, TAA March Up State Street, 2/14/2012, Peter Patau. Graduate students are coming together across campuses to demand their rights. Pitt grads feel it s time we join their efforts. New York University graduate student workers protest for a fair contract in November 2014. (Michael Alexander Gould- Wartofsky, The Nation 3/11/2015). Columbia graduate student workers move to unionize, Columbia Spectator, Kadjya Brown, 12/7/2014. Graduate Students Organize at Columbia, Columbia Spectator, Aimee Augin, 1/1/2016.
GETTING ORGANIZED! A National Movement is on the Rise Across Campuses... The good news is that in recent years there s been growing momentum across universities around the country as graduate student workers and other part- time instructors and faculty have begun to come together, get organized, and unionize. Here in Pittsburgh, the adjuncts at Point Park University have already unionized. And the adjuncts, part- time instructors, and even tenured faculty at the University of Pittsburgh have recently announced their intentions to unionize with support from the United Steelworkers (USW). Now the As of 2014, there were 31 US graduate employee unions and 18 unrecognized unions. graduate students at Pitt are following suit and are beginning to get organized as well! Since 2014, graduate employees of Pitt have begun to come together to work towards the goals of unionizing. We have support from graduate students in over 20 departments and are working closely with the USW to ensure our rights through the creation of a Graduate Student Employee Union.
WHY UNIONIZE? There are numerous benefits that unions can provide for graduate student workers. Among others, a union contract can be used to hold the University accountable for: þ JOB SECURITY Along with ensuring that graduate student workers cannot be discharged without reasonable cause, a union can help make sure that all terms of employment are included in written documentation and, if need be, represent employees facing disciplinary measures or possible termination. þ FAIR COMPENSATION One of the biggest supports for employees by unions is a guarantee of fair wages and compensation, including minimum salaries and periodic and fixed increases in salaries. They have also helped graduate student workers with waiving certain tuition and registration fees in addition to establishing set procedures for evaluating the performance of graduate student workers necessary for raises and/or promotions. þ WORKLOAD Unions recognize that employees are in the best position to know what criteria should be used to determine an unreasonable workload. They engage with employees to provide clearly defined job descriptions in contracts; set limits on numbers of students per class; and, in some cases, count training and orientation sessions as work hours.
þ HEALTH AND SAFETY Another key benefit of unionization is that it ensures the safety and health of all graduate student employees and their families. This includes access to medical benefits as well as paid sick and family leave without the risk of termination. þ DUE PROCESS If a contract if violated by an employer whether it s at the University administrative- level, by a department or individual faculty member unions provide a clearly outlined grievance procedure for how to address this. They can also help with amending an existing contract if new issues arise. þ CIVIL RIGHTS Unions prevent discrimination on the basis of race, color, veteran status, height, weight, ethnicity, religion, creed, political affiliation and beliefs, membership in any social or political organization, national origin, ancestry, marital or parental status, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, including HIV status. They can also help with affirmative action policies and an employee s right to privacy. þ ACADEMIC FREEDOM Having a union contract can protect graduate student speech and writing from institutional censorship or discipline, and promote free intellectual exploration. Unions also work to protect graduate student workers intellectual property. þ INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS International students may have unique issues that unions can provide assistance with including securing accommodations and funding as well as English- language instruction and other professional training.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What are collective bargaining rights? Union Organizing is a legal right. Collective bargaining allows workers and employers to reach voluntary agreements on a variety of issues pertaining to work conditions, security, benefits, and general well- being of employees. The goal of collective bargaining is a mutually- agreed- upon union contract stating the rights and responsibilities of both employers and employees. Why Graduate Student Workers? Though we take pride in being graduate students, we believe that graduate student worker better describes our role. As graduate student workers, we have a right to know how employment and funding decisions are made, as well as to negotiate with the administration for better working conditions and policies. The university cannot pay attention to the individual concerns of thousands of graduate employees, but collectively, when we voice those concerns through a union, we have a legal right to be recognized by the university. In fact, having union- backed workplace contracts can only help us to better meet our responsibilities as students by ensuring that we have fewer job- related issues that may hinder our academic and professional progress. We are only here for a few years. Why unionize? We see unionization as part of a broader struggle for economic and social justice. Across university campuses and workplaces, workers are actively unionizing. Research shows that unionization has led to a decrease in income inequality. Unionizing as grad student workers also helps us build a skill set we can use to navigate workplace issues in the future, in the academy and beyond. In addition, it is about ensuring that during our time as graduate students we are able to have the best possible learning conditions for ourselves, and our students. NYU Graduate Employee Re- Authorize Their Union, GSOC- UAW, Labor Notes, 1/9/2014.
LEARN MORE The National Movement for Graduate Student Employee Unions: Haider, Asad. The Power of Grad Students," Inside Higher Ed, 7/8/2014. Harris, Malcolm. Graduate Students of the World, Unite!, Al Jazeera America, 4/14/2014. Jaschik, Scott. Revived Fight on Grad Unions, Inside Higher Ed, 6/25/2012. Ludwig, David. Why Graduate Students of America are Uniting, The Atlantic, 4/15/2015. Resnikoff, Ned. Graduate Students Nationwide Press for Right to Form Union, Al Jazeera America, 10/15/2015. Other Universities Joining the Efforts: Asher- Schapiro, Avi. NYU s Graduate Student Union Just Won a Historic Contract, The Nation, 3/11/2015. Canfield, Matt. Grad Employees Re- Unionize at New York University First in the Country, Labor Notes, 1/9/2014. Llyod- Thomas. Matthew. Grad Student Protestors Demand Union, Yale Daily News, 4/30/2014. Steinman, Jill. Grad students Start to Unionize, The Harvard Crimson, 4/6/2015. Thomas, Jacqueline Rabe. UConn s 2,135 Graduate Assistants Unionize, The CT Mirror, 4/18/2014. Vara, Vauhini. A Pioneering Union at Columbia?, The New Yorker, 12/4/2014.... and many others!
GET INVOLVED! www.pittgradunion.org