June 27, 2014
By Stephanie West
Pittsburgh, Penn. – Part-time faculty members at downtown Pittsburgh’s Point Park University have voted to join the Adjunct Faculty Association of the United Steelworkers (AFA-USW).
The group filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in April to hold a mail ballot election. A total of 314 part-time Point Park instructors were eligible to vote, and the ballots were counted this morning at the NLRB’s downtown offices.
“The adjunct instructors have spoken very clearly with this vote,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “Now it’s time for the Point Park administration to work with them to craft a fair collective bargaining agreement that provides the faculty with the benefits and basic protections that all workers deserve.”
Among the issues the instructors hope to address are a decade of wage stagnation as well as their lack of benefits, job security, office space and other tools needed to provide the quality education that Point Park students deserve.
Point Park instructor Sharon Brady said the vote was a victory for the university’s teachers and their students. “I am looking forward to working with the administration, with the support of the USW, to enhance both the adjuncts’ experience and their effectiveness for the students they serve,” said Brady, who has taught theater arts at the college for 13 years.
