On Tuesday, July 30th, we had our 8th bargaining session with WCM. During the session we discussed the remaining non-economic articles and made progress on some of them, including reaching tentative agreements on two articles, “International Researcher Rights” and “Workload” (see summaries below). However, WCM continues to attempt to weaken our rights by insisting on a “Probationary Period,” which would allow them to fire postdocs without cause for the first four months of their appointments, something that would lower standards for postdoc unions across the United States.
WCM claims they need this provision in order to dismiss postdocs who are not a “good fit.” However, we know that concerns about fit often target postdocs who work in lab environments where expectations are unclear or established in unfair or inequitable ways, or in cases where postdocs are not receiving adequate support to meet expectations, particularly those of us from marginalized backgrounds. Many of us uproot our lives and our families to push science forward at WCM, and the possibility of being fired without cause within a few months of settling down is not acceptable, especially given that postdocs already undergo a thorough hiring process. Probation would make our workplace less inclusive and make WCM less competitive. One of the many reasons an overwhelming majority of WCM postdocs voted to unionize was to have protections against arbitrary and unfair termination, and we will continue to fight on this front.
We also asked WCM’s team more questions about “Prohibition Against Discrimination and Harassment,” which we countered almost 2 months ago on June 4. We asked WCM to explain their basis for rejecting specific protected categories for discrimination that postdocs and Columbia and Mount Sinai already have. We will continue fighting for a broad range of protections against discrimination and harassment.
Your participation is crucial to winning strong rights and protections for WCM postdocs. You can join us to the next bargaining session on August 6th (click to RSVP). Attendance helps show WCM that we care about these issues. You can also participate in 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 want to get more involved in organizing efforts, reach out to organizing@wcmpostdocunion.org.
In solidarity,
Dagan Marx, Biochemistry
WCMPU-UAW Bargaining Committee
Summary of provisional tentative agreements:
International Researcher Rights: expands support for visa application and renewal processes as well as protections for when visa processing is delayed by the U.S. government; gives postdocs more flexibility in choosing the type of visa they are offered; provides up to $1,500 in reimbursement for visa-related expenses
Workload: grants protection for postdocs from unreasonable work schedules. The article specifies that as postdocs, our work schedule must be reasonable and related to research needs, rather than working a specified number of hours.