BARGAINING
UPDATES

February 19, 2026

HUGE WIN. On Thursday, after months of negotiations, we have finally reached tentative agreements on Public Safety and Support! Our public safety agreement protects grads from being surveilled at work as well as our personal data. Our support agreement ensures access to breakrooms, materials for work, and travel support. If you want to read more about what we tentatively agreed upon, and what we have been proposing, check out our bargaining tracker.

The amazing turnout at our rally on 2/17 shows that Pitt grads won’t back down when the administration refuses to give us what we deserve. The administration is feeling the heat which is reflected in our wins today. Our power is undeniable! To get connected to our organizing committee’s efforts, follow @pittgradunion on social media and get connected to an organizer in your field by clicking here.

We still have a lot of work to do. This morning the administration out-right rejected our proposal for guaranteed funding for grad workers. Even after receiving hundreds of Valentine emails urging the administration to accept our proposal for non-discrimination and interim agreement to protect grad workers from ICE, we are also still waiting for a response from their bargaining team. With the support of our members behind us, we’ll keep pushing until they agree.

The administration did provide counter proposals for hours of work and appointments, and we returned hours of work, protections for international workers, and health and safety. Shout out to all of the workers who joined today's bargaining session to keep up the pressure. If you are interested in joining future bargaining sessions as an observer, fill out this general interest form.

To see this and previous updates and newsletters here. Don’t forget to fill out your membership card if you haven’t already, or to fill out this form if your working conditions change. The administration will NOT have access to your membership card information (including whether or not you signed one) until our first contract is ready for ratification.

In solidarity, 

Your bargaining committee 

Lauren Wewer, Chair (MEMS)  
Michaela Cushing-Daniels, Recording Secretary (SPIA)  
Keanna Cash (SOE)     
Alisa Omelchenko (SOM)  
Chi-Tsung Chang (English)  
Hollen Tillman (SSW)
Matt Nader (USW)
Nate Kilbert (USW)
Don Shaffer (USW)