Unionization

A campaign to unionize educators is underway at one of the region’s largest charter school networks, but organizers say administrators have tried to thwart the effort.

Some workers at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are trying to form a union. But the president and CEO of Pittsburgh’s largest and most iconic cultural institution is asking them to reconsider.

Contract workers at Google’s Bakery Square offices in Pittsburgh have voted to unionize with the United Steelworkers, by a 2-to-1 margin. The workers voted 49 to 24 to form the new Pittsburgh Association of Technology Professionals.

Contract employees at Google's Pittsburgh campus are voting on whether to unionize Tuesday. If successful, this will be the first union with the Pittsburgh Association of Tech Professionals, a new arm of the United Steelworkers.

Renata Nelson, a Google contractor in Pittsburgh, said the main priorities are to improve wages and benefit, and to cement job security.

"Our salaries are fairly low compared to industry average," Nelson said. "We've seen people being hired at lower and lower rates recently."

Dozens of UPMC workers and allies rallied Tuesday outside UPMC Montefiore Medical Center, ahead of the health service’s annual public meeting. Employees say the nonprofit has harassed and intimidated workers who try to unionize for better pay and benefits.

The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board is slated to hold hearings this week on whether University of Pittsburgh graduate students have the right to hold a vote to form a union. 

University of Pittsburgh graduate students who want to form their own union say they’ll have enough signatures by the end of the semester to ask the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board to put the issue to a vote. For the union to become reality, a majority of the more than 2,000 graduate students employed by Pitt would have to approve the measure formally.

Point Park University and the United Steelworkers union announced Wednesday they have reached a tentative agreement on a contract representing more than 300 part-time instructors.

“Stand up, get down, Pittsburgh is a union town!”

That was one of the chants shouted by protesters who circled the Allegheny County Courthouse Tuesday ahead of a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board hearing for the Rivers Casino, which is operated by Rush Street Gaming, LLC.

The board is considering whether to renew the North Shore casino’s license, a process undertaken every three years.