“What do we want?!
“Contract!
“When do we want it?!
“NOW!”
That was the loud chant repeated by a group of about 75 people wearing red T-shirts — many of which boasted on the back “Faculty strong!” — as the union representing the full-time faculty at Point Park University and its supporters gathered at the Downtown university’s Village Plaza at Wood Street and the Boulevard of the Allies.
Just before 2:30 p.m. Friday, the crowd started walking into town on Wood Street, growing bigger and louder, stopping in a long line on the sidewalk between Third and Fourth avenues and continuing to chant.
The educators, represented by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, have been bargaining for a new contract and getting nowhere on wages. So when they learned that Point Park was holding a procession and inauguration ceremony for its highly compensated new president on Friday, they decided to rain on the parade.
“It feels really disingenuous, especially to the people who get the work done at the university,” said Rich Schiavoni, president of the United Steelworkers local that represents part-time faculty such as himself, many of whom showed up in support of their full-time co-workers.
“What do we want?!
“CONTRACT!!”
The red shirts appeared to greatly outnumber the students and others holding little “Point Park University” flags who waited to watch the rather puny parade. Spectators were surprised by the protest, as apparently were the administrators who stepped along Wood Street, following in their caps and robes a drumline on their way to the Pittsburgh Playhouse on Forbes Avenue.
After the drummers passed, the red shirts spilled from the sidewalks and right into the procession, holding up signs with messages such as “Point Park Faculty Deserve Fair Wages!,” and continuing their chants, including one aimed directly at President Chris W. Brussalis, Ed.D.:
“Do you value us, Brussalis?
“Tell us!”
Before the procession and the president (since February 2023) turned off the street earlier than planned to duck into University Center, union leaders and members shouted some words at Brussalis, whose name the red shirts continued to chant before and while they headed the other way on Wood Street and back to Village Plaza, where the chants gave way to cheers.
Unit secretary and bargaining committee member Karen Dwyer needed to figure out the bullhorn to tell the assembled throng, “I just want to say we’re going to get a contract.”
She said members and others could help by continuing to wear their red shirts and otherwise publicizing their cause. “The more public we can make this, the faster it will go.”
Once again invoking Brussalis, she said, “Right now, he’s hiding from us.”
The red shirts started another chant:
“Brussalis, you can’t hide!
“We can see your greedy side!”
The union and the university are to meet for another bargaining session on Friday, Sept. 27.
Bob, a feature writer and editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is currently on strike and serving as interim editor of the Pittsburgh Union Progress. Contact him at bbatz@unionprogress.com.
