By DONOVAN HARRELL
The hearings for the Pitt Grad Union have come to a close as the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board begins determining whether Pitt graduate students are employees with the right to unionize.
The PLRB hearing examiner heard from legal representatives from the United Steelworkers Union, representing the graduate student effort, and Ballard Spahr, which Pitt hired to represent its interests.
The first set of hearings began the first week of October; however, not all those scheduled to provide testimony were able to go before the week was over.
It continued on Oct. 30 and wrapped up on Nov. 1.
There are two ongoing unionization campaigns at Pitt: one for faculty, the other for graduate students.
A final decision on the graduate student effort will be made in “a few months,” according to the Pitt Grad Union.
The hearing has ended. In a few months, we expect the Labor Board to make a ruling and schedule our election. #PittRunsOnGrads #PittEmploysGrads #H2P #NoTricks #JustFairTreatment
— Pitt Grad Union (@PittGrads) November 1, 2018
Donovan Harrell is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at dharrell@pitt.edu or 412-383-9905.