Happy Labor Day!

Dear Chatham Colleagues,

Happy Labor Day! Today we celebrate working people and the many benefits we all enjoy thanks to the labor movement. Through the strength of working together in unions, our forebears fought for and won:

·      An 8 hour day 🕰️
·      The weekend 😎
·      Pensions and retirement 📈
·      A minimum wage 💰
·      Workplace safety standards 🧯
·      Family leave policies 👨‍👧‍👧
·      Healthcare 🩺
·      Limits on child labor ⛏️

The labor movement has also fought for pay equity, racial justice, public education, and cleaning up our environment. Unions are winning in many sectors right now, including across higher ed, giving employees a direct voice in negotiating a contract. 

Did you know that a contract would have given us a seat at the decision-making table this year? Unless we agreed to re-negotiate–if we had a proper contract in place and a union behind us–they would not have been able to:

·      Cut our retirement
·      Cut our salaries
·      Cut our conference travel
·      Take away our bus passes
·      Change the terms of parking after we already paid for our permits
·      Make major increases to the cost of health insurance and life insurance
·      Take spouses off our insurance
·      Claw back the tools we use for work, such as our iPads

 With a union, we would have a direct say in negotiating fair compensation and healthy teaching and learning conditions. We could be discussing the brown water and lack of filters in our buildings, the black mold from delayed roof maintenance, and the air quality and temperatures in our classrooms. We could have transparent and fair procedures for tenure and promotion that include raises for everyone who achieves these milestones, not just some. We invite you to join us virtually for an initial infosession on Thursday, September 28th at 6 p.m. where we will discuss our options for collective action. Mark your calendar, and a link will be forthcoming.

Unions have been fighting for issues like these since the nineteenth century and Pittsburgh has a long and proud history as a central node in the labor movement. So on this Labor Day, here’s to the strength of people working together to make our institutions and our world a better place.

In solidarity,
Mike Boyd
Kevin Hatala
Lou Martin
Jessie Ramey
Jennie Sweet-Cushman
Erin Marie Williams-Hatala