MYTH 1:  THE UNION WILL MAKE ALL OF THE DECISIONS FOR YOU. 
FACT:  WE are the union​! All graduate student employees would have a voice in the unionization process. Before a contract is ratified, the membership must vote to approve it. Right now, we as graduate students have no say in our working conditions and little recourse if a problem arises. As a union, we can create a legally binding grievance process that is there when we need it, and which will help us to address our concerns fairly and without the fear of retaliation.
MYTH 2:  THE UNION WOULD PUT INTERNATIONAL GRADS AT RISK.
FACT:  This is the same scare tactic used by administrators at other universities where graduate student employees have organized unions. These administrations play to the tense political climate around immigration in an attempt to frighten our international colleagues into voting against the union. The fact is, no unions have been able to find an instance of this ever happening in the 50 years since graduate student employees started forming unions in the United States. Thousands of international graduate students are union members.
MYTH 3:   YOUR STIPEND COULD DECREASE.
FACT:  No graduate student union contract we’ve encountered raises the wages of some grads while lowering others. Because different departments have different stipend levels (and different funding sources), contract raises are generally assigned by across-the-board percentage increase.
MYTH 5:  CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS WILL START FROM ZERO.
FACT:  Contract negotiations start from the status quo. The status quo encompasses everyone’s current working conditions, pay, and benefits (including yours).
MYTH 6:  GSRs CAN’T JOIN UNIONS.
FACT:  The graduate student employee union at the University of Washington, which includes teaching assistants as well as research assistants, ratified their first contract in 2004. Researchers are also included in the grad unions at Harvard and Yale. In the University of California system organizers are working to add the researchers to their long-standing unit of Teaching Assistants and Teaching Fellows.
MYTH 7:  THERE WILL BE A LIMIT ON YOUR HOURS SPENT DOING RESEARCH.
FACT:  The union can’t - and won’t - tell you how many hours to spend on your research, how to research, or how to interact with your PI or advisor.
MYTH 8:  YOU WILL BE FORCED TO GO ON STRIKE.
FACT: No one can be forced to go on strike. Ever. The decision to strike would be made democratically by the members of your local union, but it’s an individual’s choice to participate. Strikes happen, but are very rare – 98% of all contract negotiations are completed without a strike. Our union would discourage graduate student employees from participating in a strike if it would harm their research or compromise their visa status.
MYTH 9:  THE UNION WILL COME BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR ADVISOR.
FACT: The research says no. In the decades that graduate employee unions have existed, there’s been no evidence that collective bargaining has had a negative impact on relationships between graduate student employees and their advisors. Rather, peer-reviewed studies  have suggested that there are positive effects. (See especially Rogers, Sean E., Adrienne E. Eaton, and Paula B. Voos. "Effects of Unionization on Graduate Student Employees: Faculty-Student Relations, Academic Freedom, and Pay." ILR Review 66.2, April 2013).
MYTH 10:  THE UNIVERSITY IS TOO COMPLEX FOR A ONE SIZE FITS ALL AGREEMENT.
FACT:  Graduate student researchers and instructors across departments share many common interests, like health care, family benefits, pay increases, and a fair grievance process. These issues are central to nearly all contract negotiations. A collective-bargaining agreement can be as simple or as detailed and specific as it needs to be to meet the needs of the graduate student employees.
MYTH 11:  WHAT DOES THE USW KNOW ABOUT HIGHER ED?
FACT:  A lot, actually. The USW Academic Workers Association represents over 10,000 higher ed workers throughout the US and Canada.
MYTH 12:  YOU WILL BE FORCED TO PAY DUES AND INITIATION FEES.
FACT:  After the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Janus v. AFSCME, 585 U.S., 138 S. Ct 2448 (2018), it’s up to you whether or not you choose to pay dues or to be a member of our union. We hope you will because we’re all stronger when we stand together. And even if you do join, there are no dues collected until we ratify (vote to accept) our first contract, and no initiation fees for newly organized local unions in the USW. Dues are 1.45% of your gross wages plus 2 cents per hour (so 40 cents a week for all graduate student employees on a 20 hour/ week stipend).
MYTH 13:  THE UNION CAN’T GUARANTEE ANYTHING.
FACT:  Right now, the administration makes all decisions and changes unilaterally, without any input from graduate student employees. With a contract in place, our stipends and benefits are guaranteed, and protected from being changed by the University without our input.
MYTH 14:  WE DON’T NEED A UNION TO FIX OUR PROBLEMS.
FACT:  A collective-bargaining agreement means that both parties (the graduate student employee union and the Pitt administration) must work together to create a mutually-beneficial agreement. Right now, the university has unilateral control over our working conditions. We have many avenues to share information about the changes we seek, but no mechanisms to ensure that we’re actually being heard.
MYTH 15:  YOUR DEPARTMENT WON’T BE REPRESENTED DURING BARGAINING.
FACT:  Our organizing committee has graduate students from nearly all programs and departments across Pitt. We strive to be representative. The best way to combat this concern is to get involved. Send us an email at info@pittgradunion.org if you’d like to join us!
MYTH 16:  MYTH: THE GSO/GPSG COULD NO LONGER REPRESENT YOU.
FACT:  While these student governments do (and will continue to do) important advocacy work, the administration is under no obligation to act on any recommendations or request that they might make. Your collective-bargaining agreement (contract) is a legally binding document that specifically relates to your employment conditions. Student Governance will continue to exist and function as it does now, and the Pitt Grad Union can work together with these organizations to make positive changes. This is why the Dietrich School’s Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Organization voted to endorse our campaign.
MYTH 17:  WE HAVE YOUR BEST INTERESTS AT HEART.
FACT:  We’re rational, well-educated adults and are trusted to teach undergrads and conduct research here at Pitt. The Administration should trust us enough to advocate for ourselves.
MYTH 18:  WE ARE A COMMUNITY.
FACT:  A community is built on trust and mutual respect. As a union, we can negotiate with the administration as equals. The relationship between the administration and the union does not have to be adversarial, but can instead be very positive and collaborative. This is something that we will always strive for as a union.
MYTH 19:  WE WERE JUST GETTING READY TO FIX ALL OF THE PROBLEMS.
FACT:  Many issues continue to go unaddressed by the administration. Collective bargaining ensures that they take our concerns seriously, and that we can create a plan to fix things together.
MYTH 20:  YOU COULD LOSE YOUR FUNDING.
​FACT:  In its most recent reporting year (2015) Pitt’s budget showed a surplus of $85 million. Pitt is consistently in the nation’s top three most expensive public universities with always increasing tuitions. When the administration cries poor, they shed crocodile tears. The union will have no control over your department or advisor’s funding and would never seek to damage Pitt’s ability to fund its programs. To the contrary, we could lobby together to bring more funding to Pitt.