On Tuesday, July 16th, we held our 7th bargaining session with WCM. During the session we made progress on a few non-economic articles, including reaching a tentative agreement on one more article, “Grievance and Arbitration,” which outlines a timely process for enforcing the terms of our contract, with the ability to take disputes to a neutral third party. We remain concerned that WCM has yet to respond to our last proposal on “Prohibition Against Discrimination“, which we last discussed over a month ago.
WCM also formally proposed a package of proposals related to appointments, including “Appointment Security” and “Probation Period”, which would allow them to maintain their ability to dismiss postdocs without a performance-related reason in the initial months of their appointments. We were disappointed that WCM chose to make this proposal, given that postdocs already undergo a thorough hiring process. We deserve more than being arbitrarily fired if WCM later decides we are not “a good fit,” especially when so many of us uproot our lives and our families’ from around the world to come and work at WCM. Additionally, no other postdoc union contract in the United States includes such a provision. We will continue fighting for basic rights and protections that other unionized postdocs already have, including our colleagues at Mount Sinai and Columbia.
Lastly, WCM agreed to our proposed changes to interim salary increases, ensuring that the new WCM minimum will match the recommended NIH minimums. PIs can still offer raises above these minimum rates, including mid-appointment review increases, and these increases will be retroactive to July 1st and implemented by August 16th at the latest, across all departments. This interim agreement does not preclude us from making additional wage proposals during the bargaining process.
As WCM continues to push back against basic rights and protections, and effectively delay bargaining over economic issues, your participation in this process is increasingly important.You can click here to RSVP to attend the session on July 30th and future sessions or get involved by joining a focus group to discuss issues such as wages, housing, childcare, discrimination, among others – Click here to learn more about focus groups and an organizer will reach out!
Lastly, if you or your postdoctoral colleagues face any issues with salary increases or have questions about the NIH minimum scale, or if you’d like to get more involved in organizing efforts, reach out at organizing@wcmpostdocunion.org.
In solidarity,
Sahar Jalal
WCMPU-UAW Bargaining Committee