‘It shows the power of organizing’: Point Park full-time faculty ratify new contract with university 

Full-time faculty members at Point Park University this week ratified a three-year contract that they say provides them with annual wage increases, improved benefits and stronger job protections. 

The approximately 110 full-time faculty members, professors who are represented by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, approved the deal, 72-3, in a ratification vote on Wednesday at the university’s Downtown campus. 

“I’m really proud of this contract, especially in this climate in the United States of America in 2024 when so many people are under attack in their workplaces,” said Karen Dwyer, the leader of the union’s bargaining committee and professor and coordinator of the creative writing program at Point Park. “I feel good about what it’s done for our workers and the gains we got.”

The ratification of the contract comes about three weeks after the union and university reached a tentative agreement and following 18 bargaining sessions that took place from May through October. 

Zack Tanner, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, said the overwhelming support to ratify the contract indicated that the faculty recognized it was “a really good deal for everybody.”

“It provides wage increases, increased job security, a really unique way for non-tenure-track faculty to move into a tenure track promotional line, which is not something you see in a lot of faculty bodies in general,” Tanner said. “It shows the power of organizing with your co-workers and asking for more.”

The deal is retroactive to Sept. 1 — meaning wage increases will be paid out entering the holiday season — and runs through June 30, 2027.

The contract includes 3.6% annual wage increases for all members as well as equivalent hikes to all minimum base salaries and increased pay for overloads and various other duties and responsibilities. It also offers additional funding for professional development and the creation of a three-level promotion structure for lecturers.

In addition, the contract increases just-cause protection for non-tenure track faculty, and a pathway for non-tenure track faculty to be considered for promotion to tenure track, among other improvements, the union said.  

“Without the union and its ability to engage in collective bargaining, I don’t know where we would be,” said Fred Johnson, Point Park unit chair of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh and a professor of cinema. “If we were getting raises at all, they would be minuscule; there would be no benefits accruing whatsoever. I am grateful to be represented by a union in the higher education landscape that we’re facing today.”

Chris W. Brussalis, president of Point Park, said in a statement that he was pleased the administration had come to terms on an equitable agreement with the full-time faculty.  

“Our faculty is an impressive group of educators who are critically important to our mission of delivering our students a world-class education,” Brussalis said. “Point Park has an aggressive plan for growth and prosperity in Downtown Pittsburgh, and we look forward to working hand-in-hand with our faculty to achieve those goals.”

While contract negotiations lasted about five months, faculty members began reviewing the previous contract and discussing where they wanted to see improvements in January. Faculty members eventually created subcommittees to address different aspects of the contract, which narrowed in on demands they intended to bring to the bargaining table.  

With several key issues remaining unresolved after months of negotiations, including economics, the faculty held a public demonstration in September along Wood Street during an inauguration procession for Brussalis. About 75 people attended the rally, including many Point Park students who came in support of their professors.   

The support of students and staff was vital to the union’s success, Dwyer said. 

That support continued into the contract ratification process on Wednesday, where, according to Dwyer, dozens of students approached her as she sat by the ballot box in the lobby of Lawrence Hall, wishing her good fortune and jokingly asking if they could vote on the contract. 

“I’m deeply grateful at the depth of their support,” Dwyer said. “Yesterday, I’m sitting at this table, and at least 40 or 50 students came and said, ‘Can I sign? Can I vote for it?’ They’re all still wearing their T-shirts [from the September rally]. It’s just really beautiful.”