On Wednesday, August 13th, we convened our 36th bargaining session with the WCM administration, the first session after our Picket to Protect Science. We hoped that the administration would substantively respond to postdocs’ concerns about job security and financial stability, specifically by withdrawing their proposal for a Force Majeure clause and committing to fair layoff protections with adequate notice.
Unfortunately, this was not the case. Not only did WCM fail to counter our package proposal from Friday, August 8th, but they also stated that they continued to be “disappointed and frustrated” that we have refused to counter Force Majeure, despite addressing their concerns about funding uncertainty in our Emergency Layoff article.
We emphasized that from the outset, our bargaining framework has been based on the postdoc contract at Mount Sinai, which does not include a Force Majeure provision or any right to lay postdocs off. Weill Cornell’s demand for us to include a Force Majeure clause in our contract is an unprecedented and brazen attempt to undermine the rights and benefits we’ve already agreed to with the administration. Furthermore, we have already made significant movement towards WCM by proposing an Emergency Layoff article that would allow WCM to terminate postdocs in the event of a financial emergency, giving them the ability to adjust to potential funding cuts while offering us predictability and stability. WCM also asked a variety of questions about our opposition to Force Majeure, as well as several questions about our Emergency Layoff article, which we will continue to address at the next session. We still await a counter from WCM on our comprehensive package proposal.
Over the past months, we have had hundreds of conversations with postdocs across WCM, and it is clear that the administration’s current proposals are unacceptable to our community. Postdocs are prepared to escalate with further disruptive action, if necessary, to secure a fair contract that is already long overdue. We cannot and will not accept an agreement that would allow WCM to roll back the benefits and salaries we have fought for over the past 16 months, or to lay us off for any reason with inadequate notice. Our commitment remains to winning a contract that provides the stability, fairness, and respect that postdocs at WCM deserve.
Sign up to attend our scheduled bargaining session tomorrow, Tuesday, August 26th, from 12 PM to 4 PM. And later this week, on Friday, August 29th, at 3 PM, unionized Higher Ed workers across the country will be calling representatives in Congress to demand no cuts to science funding in the federal budget. This will help put pressure on our elected officials to improve and stabilize the research funding conditions that are leading WCM to insist on Force Majeure and layoff provisions in the first place! Fill out this form to RSVP for the phonebank.
As always, if you have thoughts or questions, please reach out to organizing@wcmpostdocunion.org.
In solidarity,
Luca Posa
Postdoctoral Associate in Pediatrics
On behalf of the WCMPU-UAW Bargaining Committee