Pittsburgh UNITED

05/04/2026

🗳️ Today, May 4, is the last day to register to vote in PA! Check your registration and make sure your info is updated at vote.pa. 🗳️

03/25/2026

Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance, Pittsburgh Housing Justice Table, and University of Pittsburgh Department of Sociology, Urban Studies Program, and University Center for Social and Urban Research are proud to present the 3rd Annual Pittsburgh Housing Justice Summit, beginning at 9:00 AM this Saturday, March 28 at the Frick Fine Arts Building (Across from Carnegie Main Library on Schenley Dr.).

Featuring a keynote address by CUNY assistant professor Jason Spicer, Ph.D., this year we join advocates around the world to demand an end to corporate greed and government complicity in the housing crisis, help build community power to demand fair housing, resist evictions and support dignified housing for all. There will also be a student tenant workshop discussing student exploitation in the housing market and ways for students to defend their rights.

Housing is a human right, and people shouldn’t have to choose between paying for rent or health care, or between new shoes or healthy food for their kids. We welcome you to join community housing advocates, experts, and public officials to learn how we can make housing more affordable and livable, strengthen tenant rights, and build movements for real solutions to housing insecurity and displacement.

Part of Global Housing Action Days 2026

02/28/2026

Our Water Table Podcast is rooted in the belief that water connects every one of us therefore, everyone gets a seat at the table.

At its core, Our Water Table podcast works to:

🔬 Demystify Water Science
🍃 Restore Relationship to Place
🫱🏾‍🫲🏾 Center Those Most Impacted
🚰 Expand the Table to Include Community Voices

Closing out Black History Month today, we welcome you to check out the Our Water Campaign’s special broadcast featuring a tribute to late social justice icon Jesse Jackson, plus commentary from guest host Diane I. Daniels and some of Pittsburgh’s most impactful Black environmental justice leaders.

Listen to the full episode on Spotify at: bit.ly/OurWaterTableBHMSpecial

01/22/2026

ICE’s violent and lawless surge is underway in Minnesota and across the country. It has cost the lives of Renee Nicole Good and an untold number of our immigrant siblings. It continues to tear apart families, destabilize communities, and violate the freedoms of Minnesotans and our neighbors beyond. We can’t move forward as if this is normal.

It is not, and this must stop.

Target, whose corporate headquarters are in Minneapolis, has been collaborating with ICE, allowing ICE to stage on its properties and to operate within their stores. Pittsburgh stands in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis and beyond to say, “ICE Out for Good”.

Join us Friday, January 23 to demand accountability, make visible the human cost of ICE’s actions, and show that we will not quietly endure fear or violence in our communities.

📆 ICE OUT for Good: PGH Minnesota Solidarity Action
⏰ Friday, January 23 beginning at 2:00 PM
📍 East Liberty Presbyterian Church (116 S. Highland)

01/16/2026

New year, new mayor…same UPMC?

Pittsburgh homeowners are paying 20% more in property taxes to keep core city services functioning, an increase that was necessary to close a projected $20–30 million budget deficit.
But the need to raise property taxes on residents to keep Pittsburgh afloat shines a glaring light on a root cause of our city’s financial challenges: our largest employers and real estate owners do not pay their fair share.

If Pittsburgh’s “Big 5” nonprofits paid property taxes, the city would receive at least $34 million per year—completely closing the budget gap. UPMC alone could bring in an estimated $14 million, before even factoring in its $2 billion expansion.

To realize the "new Pittsburgh" he promised on the campaign trail, Mayor O’Connor’s administration can start by holding UPMC accountable to pay what they truly owe our city — matching the $20 million property tax increase homeowners are going to pay in the coming year seems like a good start.

🔗Read more from PGH United Executive Director Alex Wallach Hanson in the comments below!

12/03/2025

🎉🎉Congratulations to Housing Justice Table member Randall Taylor, named one of City Paper’s People of the Year 2025 in the Activism category!

For more than a decade, Randall has been working for housing justice in Pittsburgh, fighting to make our city more affordable and fair for the people who need it most. We’re proud to organize alongside him.

Read more in the comments below!

11/14/2025

A big week in Pittsburgh for our labor siblings across the city!

On Monday, workers of the Post-Gazette scored a huge victory in their 3+ year fight to return to the newsroom. The U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit Court ruled in favor of the workers-- upholding a similar NLRB ruling from earlier this year-- ordering P-G management to restore their jobs, healthcare, and benefits.

Last night, and community supporters took to the streets in Oakland to demand a fair union contract with the multi-billion dollar coffee chain-- joining Starbucks workers across the country on an open-ended ULP strike.

🚫 ☕ Join the fight by signing the No Contract No Coffee pledge and committing to not cross a picket line! Go to nocontractnocoffee.org or follow the link in our bio!
We're proud to stand in solidarity with the newsroom workers of Post-Gazette who stuck together since 2022 and the Starbucks workers in PGH (and across the country!) fighting for respect, fair wages + benefits, and strong union contracts!

11/14/2025

🚰 Keep Pittsburgh’s Water Public 🚰

Back in the spring, Pittsburgh voted to keep our water assets public. Now City Council has one last chance to protect that decision.

If Council approves the Asset Transfer Agreement, major decisions about our drinking water and sewer system will shift to unelected officials at Pittsburgh Water and the PA Public Utility Commission. That means ratepayers lose direct representation. Council would keep basic land-use authority, but have almost no influence over operations or executive decisions.

📄 Read the proposed resolution:
https://pittsburgh.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7650821&GUID=786CF09C-4A07-4D5B-A6C6-17CE0BD826ED

And without real guardrails, Pittsburgh Water could again bring in private-sector operators. Remember Veolia? We can’t repeat that mistake.

Next week is our chance to speak up. Tell City Council to ensure Pittsburgh Water’s executive decisions stay out of private hands.

➡️ Demand a City of Pittsburgh Water Advisory Council
We need a council that includes City Council members, ratepayers, and community voices — real, ongoing oversight to keep our water public and accountable.

📢 Public Hearing:
Tuesday, November 18th @ 12:00 PM

🗣️ Register to speak:
https://www.pittsburghpa.gov/City-Government/City-Council/Clerks-Office/Council-Meeting-Schedule

Scroll to “Speaker Sign-Up” and select 11/18 @ 12:00pm — Bill 2220 (Pgh Water Asset Transfer).

Let’s show up and protect our water. 🚰

11/12/2025

Congratulations are in order for Pittsburgh United Organizer Gabby Gray, who has been honored as Pitt's Public Health Practice Emerging Community Partner for 2025! 🎉

As the Lead Organizer of the Our Water Campaign, Gabby's done amazing work to empower our communities and fight for our city's right to clean, safe, affordable water and we're thrilled to see her receive recognition for her dedication to organizing for water justice.

Gabby will be presented with the award on Wednesday, November 19 at 3:00pm at the School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh in the Commons Area (130 De Soto Street, Pittsburgh, PA).

10/17/2025

This week, Pittsburgh City Council voted to advance Councilperson Strassburger’s Inclusionary Zoning amendment — despite strong community opposition.
Housing Justice Table members and residents fought for a different outcome, and are deeply disappointed with the lack of transparency behind last-minute changes that weaken years of work toward real affordability.
Still, our collective organizing has shifted the conversation — making it clear that housing is a human right and that Pittsburgh’s growth must serve people, not profit.
We thank Councilmembers Gross, Lavelle, Mosley, and Warwick for standing firm in support of real affordable housing solutions for all, and we urge the City Planning Commission to uphold the principles of transparency, fairness, and housing justice in its review and to reject any version of this amendment that fails to deliver lasting affordability and equitable development.