Pittsburgh
UNITED

Making sure working families share in the prosperity of a New Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh United is a coalition of community, labor, faith, and environmental organizations committed to advancing the vision of a community and economy that work for all people.

We aspire to create a new social contract, whereby all workers are able to care for themselves and raise their families, sharing in the prosperity generated by economic growth and development.

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What We Do

We've won $100 million in wages, benefits, and community investment.

Clean Rivers Campaign

The Clean Rivers Campaign (CRC) engages citizen ratepayers in the public debate over how billions of public funds will be spent to overhaul our regional water and sewer infrastructure. The Clean Rivers Campaign advocates for a smarter approach to solving our water quality problems prioritizing green infrastructure investment with equitable economic development and direct community benefits.

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Building Economic Equality

Through both a Worker Organizing Table and a progressive policy agenda, Pittsburgh United is campaigning for higher wages and better working conditions for working class people in our city. From new union contracts to paid sick days, Pittsburgh United’s coalition has won – by the most conservative estimates – more than $59 million in wages, benefits, and community investment.

Affordable Housing

Our city is on the cusp of fundamental change, and in a unique moment to proactively address affordable housing. Pittsburgh United is fighting to move the region away from policies that segregate low-income residents into second class neighborhoods and towards affordable, equitable, and sustainable housing.

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Recent Media

Water Utility Company Aqua America To Buy Peoples Natural Gas

Nov 1, 2018 | Our Water Campaign

Aqua America Inc., a Bryn Mawr, Pa. headquarted water utility company, has announced it will buy Peoples Gas and its subsidiaries in a $4.3 billion all-cash deal. According to a press release, the resulting company will serve one million water utility customer...

Peduto, Turzai spar over PWSA privatization

Nov 1, 2018 | Our Water Campaign

Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto traded insults Thursday over the city’s handling of chronic problems at the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. Turzai, R-Marshall, started it a day earlier by outlining PWSA’s many problems and...

A Huge Win for Keeping Water Systems under Public Control

Aug 20, 2018 | Our Water Campaign

Baltimore is poised to become the first major U.S. city to prohibit privatization of its water system and the first to do so by amending its city charter. Aly Shaw of the Pittsburgh Our Water Campaign says lead levels in her city are finally going down after...

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Why Pittsburgh UNITED?

The ‘New Pittsburgh’ enjoys national acclaim. Hardly a week goes by without another news outlet lauding the economic renaissance of our former steel town, or a profile of the city’s livability through the lens of the latest hot neighborhood.

But as this resurgence occurs, not everyone is benefitting, with nearly 50 percent of the 18,000 jobs created in Pittsburgh last year paying less than $14 an hour. Revitalization is benefitting some, but the fabric of low income neighborhoods and communities of color are being torn apart.

Pittsburgh is at a critical moment. We have an opportunity to be a national leader, not just in terms of economic revival, but equitable development that puts people first. To be truly livable, the revitalization of Pittsburgh must include both the high-tech and the service sectors of the economy, while lifting up every neighborhood in the city.