Postdoc observers before our June 10 bargaining session
Join our next in-person bargaining session on Tuesday, June 24 12-4pm!
During the past week, we met with WCM for our 29th and 30th bargaining sessions, reflecting the urgency of reaching a fair contract that both makes WCM competitive with other institutions and protects us in these uncertain times.
Over the course of these sessions, WCM responded to our Emergency Layoffs proposal by introducing a new counter package proposal that contained both Force Majeure and a new Layoff provision. In response to our collective efforts to convey the urgency of reaching a fair contract, including our resounding strike authorization vote, WCM also agreed to maintain morning shuttle service to Roosevelt Island (which they had been trying to cancel) in the Transportation article and finally reverted to their previous position on Discrimination and Harassment, in which survivors of sexual harassment can initiate a neutral third-party grievance process without delay. This is a major win that highlights the importance of continuing to show WCM that we are committed to reaching a contract that makes WCM more equitable, inclusive, and competitive.
However, the administration still refuses to match other benefits in areas where WCM has fallen behind institutions like Mount Sinai, including rent caps, an emergency support fund, relocation assistance, and reasonable paid time off for visa renewal. We reiterated to WCM that these benefits are more important than ever before to retain postdocs and offer stability at a time when many are considering leaving academia and returning to their home countries.
We share WCM’s concern about attacks on science from the current presidential administration and have been fighting back alongside thousands of other academic workers in the UAW with some recent success. However, we remain fundamentally opposed to Force Majeure, which would allow WCM to change any part of our contract for whatever reasons and with minimal notice. We have been willing to engage with a layoff provision as a compromise that would provide WCM with some ability to adjust to future funding crises while also maintaining the dignity and well-being of our postdoc community.
Unfortunately, WCM’s current Layoff provision falls far short of what is needed. Specifically, WCM wants the ability to lay us off at any time, not just during financial emergencies, which contradicts their stated rationale for including such a provision. They refuse to offer transitional funding, which would allow time for additional funding to be secured before a postdoc is sent a layoff notice.
Crucially, WCM’s proposal also contains no enforceable timeline for how much notice a postdoc should receive before being laid off. Under WCM’s current language, a postdoc could receive virtually no notice before being forced to upend their life and possibly leave the country. By contrast, our proposal includes both a transitional period in which to secure alternative funding prior to receiving a layoff notice, similar to what Cornell agreed to with unionized graduate student workers, and a minimum required notice period before a layoff itself.
Finally, while WCM is offering laid off postdocs some limited ability to re-apply for their positions should funding be restored, the timeline for returning to work is arbitrarily short (14 days) and the opportunity for reinstatement expires after six months. This would be unreasonable for any postdoc, but especially those who would be forced to leave the country after losing their job.
A postdoc observer during the session said the following:
“It was extremely alarming to hear WCM proposing to add a layoff clause in our postdoc contract during these times of financial instability both in and out of the academic research setting. We don’t deserve to be surprised with a sudden cut of 100% in our income that will result in total loss of our homes and medical coverage, bringing hardships to ourselves and our families. Postdocs’ work made possible the great recognition that WCM has in medical research; the minimum that WCM must do is provide basic protections to make disruptions less sudden and less impactful.”
— Pedro Negri Bernadino, Postdoctoral Associate in BMRI
Our next bargaining session is on Tuesday, June 24 at 12pm – click here to RSVP to join us in person for that session.
While we do not want to strike, we will do so if necessary to reach a fair contract that insulates our community from devastating layoffs and makes WCM a competitive place to pursue research.
As always, reach out to organizing@wcmpostdocunion.org with any other questions.
In solidarity,
Luca Posa, Postdoctoral Associate in Biochemistry
On behalf of the WCMPU-UAW Bargaining Committee