The Pitt News
by Martha Layne, Rebecca Johnson, Jon Moss, and Alexandra Ross
October 19, 2021
Researchers and professors from across all Pitt campuses have voted to form a faculty union, according to a copy of an election returns document obtained by The Pitt News, delivering a major win to union organizers and ending a unionization campaign that lasted more than five years.
Out of a total of 2,203 faculty members who voted in the election, according to the document, 1,511 voted to form the union, while 612 voted against it. There are 80 challenged ballots, which isn’t enough to affect the outcome of the election. Roughly 3,000 faculty were eligible to vote in the election.
The faculty union will be affiliated with the United Steelworkers’ Academic Workers Association, which has supported the unionization effort since 2016. The Steelworkers have helped faculty unionize at other local universities, including Robert Morris and Point Park.
Marian Jarlenski, an associate professor of health policy and management and a union organizer, said she’s “thrilled” with the election results. She said the large margin of victory demonstrates how much hard work the Faculty Organizing Committee put into the election.
“I’m really excited. And I’m just so proud of our organizing committee and the literally thousands of faculty who put in time and effort to make this happen,” she said. “I’m really confident it’s going to improve our University.”