Anti-union firm paid $240K by Pitt during faculty and grad student unionization efforts
When University of Pittsburgh graduate students voted 712-675 against unionization in April, union organizers slammed the outcome as the result of anti-union interference on the part of the administration.
“Instead of stepping back and allowing grad student workers to make this decision for themselves,” Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC) organizers wrote in a press release, “the administration hired high-priced, union-busting lawyers from Ballard Spahr.”
Ballard Spahr, the law firm hired to represent the university during the union negotiations, offers “union avoidance” services on its website, describing how it can help potential clients “maintain a union-free environment.”
And according to The Pitt News, which uncovered the university’s financial disclosure reports, preserving that union-free environment came with a price tag of close to $240,000 over the course of three fiscal years.
Read more: https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/anti-union-firm-paid-240k-by-pitt-during-faculty-and-grad-student-unionization-efforts/Content?oid=15026173