HIGHLIGHTS OF WCMPU-UAW TENTATIVE AGREEMENT
The Bargaining Committee recommends voting YES to ratification. This Agreement includes historic economic improvements and establishes important new workplace rights for all Postdoctoral Associates, Fellows, and Visiting Fellows. We believe the Agreement would not only improve our lives as researchers, but would also help make WCM a more equitable, inclusive, and competitive research institution. Key highlights of the Agreement include:
- Among the highest minimum salaries for postdocs in the country, plus 3% anniversary increases and an additional $3,500 increase at the start of the 2nd year
- Most postdocs will receive an immediate 10% to 26% salary increase and a 20% to 38% salary increase over the duration of the 32-month contract
- The minimum salary for a first-year postdoc will increase by 22% from $61,008 to $74,692 upon ratification and will increase again to $75,812 on July 1, 2026, and to $76,949 on July 1, 2027, to keep up with the cost-of-living
- Postdocs will receive a $500 ratification bonus along with their normal pay for the first full pay period after ratification.
- Minimum salaries will be adjusted based on years of experience as follows:
WCM Years of Experience
Salary Scale
0
$74,692
1
$79,192
2
$80,192
3
$81,192
4
$82,192
- Parental leave of twelve weeks at 67% for first year year at WCM, and at 100% pay from second year onwards, for both birth and non-birth parents, after the first three months of employment – in addition to 6 to 8 weeks medical leave after birth
- Yearly communal $50,000 emergency fund ($150,000 over the life of the Agreement) that postdocs can apply for, to cover expenses related to childcare, housing, and other forms of financial hardship
- New housing-related rights, including 4-week timeline for receiving a housing offer, ability to share apartment with one’s domestic partner and dependents, rights to timely repairs, and a housing committee with the administration,
- Greater job security including “just cause” protections against arbitrary discipline and termination, without a probation period, and minimum 4-months notice for non-renewal
- Protection against layoffs where appropriate funding exists
- Protection against unreasonable workload and new rights to part-time work
- Stronger protections against discrimination, harassment, and bullying, including immediate and supportive measures and extended timelines for reporting harassment, pregnancy accommodations, and gender-neutral facilities
- New rights for international researchers, including five business days of protected time for visa renewal, more say in your preferred visa choice, up to $1,500 in reimbursements for visa-related expenses, and an option for extended DS2019 work authorization beyond appointment length
- A strong grievance procedure that allows us, for the first time, to enforce our rights under the contract with access to a neutral third-party arbitrator
- Protected rights to authorship and intellectual property, and PI status on grants and for open access publication fees
- Guaranteed access to paid time off of up to 20 vacation days plus 4 personal days
See below for a complete summary. You may click hyperlinks to read the full language for each topic and can read the entire tentative agreement here.
Compensation and Other Benefits
Childcare (Link to Article)
Codifies access to childcare centers partnered with Weill Cornell Medicine and sponsored backup childcare programs; ensures access to Dependent care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for childcare expenses.
Compensation (Link to Article)
Increases the previous minimum salary of $61,008 by 10 – 26%, including an experience-based scale starting at $74,692 and reaching $82,192 in the 5th year. Postdocs near or already above the new minimums, shall receive a 3% increase. This article also establishes contractually-guaranteed salary increases of 3% based on anniversary or reappointment date. The minimum salary for incoming postdocs will increase to $75,812 on July 1, 2026 and to $76,949 on July 1, 2027. On the start of the second year of service, the base salary will be increased by $3,500 for support with long-term financial planning, in recognition of a retirement benefit.
Emergency Support Fund (Link to Article)
Provides access to a communal support fund of $50,000 per year to cover postdocs expenses related to childcare, housing and other financial hardship.
Holidays (Link to Article)
Secures ten (10) paid holidays per year, plus four (4) personal days which can be used for additional time off; ensures right to observe religious and/or cultural holidays; establishes right to alternate days off if project requires postdocs to work on a holiday.
Housing (Link to Article)
Establishes a 4-week timeline for receiving a housing offer, ability to share apartment with one’s domestic partner and dependents,ensures first rental payment and security deposit shall not be due until postdocs receive their first two paychecks; introduces creation of Postdoctoral Housing Committee; ensures right to move apartments and timely apartment repairs and service.
Insurance Benefits (Link to Article)
Ensures that Postdocs continue to receive health and related benefits on the same basis as currently offered and prevents changes to benefits unless Weill Cornell Medicine changes benefits for similarly-situated employees.
Leaves of Absence (Link to Article)
Codifies and expands on existing access to paid leaves of absence, including medical leave, parental leave, and bereavement leave, and provides for the first time a visa renewal leave of five (5) business days per twelve month period for both the postdoctoral employee and family. Postdoctoral Fellows will now have access to twelve (12) days sick leave from the first day of their employment, twelve (12) weeks of parental leave at 67% for the first year of employment and fully paid from year 2, after the first three months of employment, for both the birth and non-birth parents, in addition to 6-8 weeks of paid childbirth leave, and the option for an extended childcare leave. Postdocs will also now have the right to reasonable requests for longer bereavement leave when, for example, a leave may involve international travel.
Parking and Transportation (Link to Article)
Guarantees bike parking in convenient proximity to Weill Cornell Medicine; protects access to shuttle services and transportation reimbursement initiative, which allows pre-tax payment of transportation expenses.
Recreation (Link to Article)
Ensures that WCM will provide access to recreation discounts and benefits on the same terms as other Weill Cornell Medicine employees.
Relocation Assistance (Link to Article)
Memorializes the status quo policy that Postdocs may receive relocation payments at the discretion of their PIs.
Retirement (Link to Article)
Maintains the right to contribute to a Weill Cornell Medicine 403(b) Retirement Plan on the same basis as currently offered.
Tax Assistance (Link to Article)
Ensures that Postdocs shall receive timely responses and corrections if WCM withholds more taxes than required; international Postdocs shall receive tax treaty information and access to tax treaty information.
Training (Link to Article)
Provides paid time and pay associated fees for postdocs to attend required or supervisor-approved, work-related training, orientations, workshops, scientific meetings and courses.
Travel (Link to Article)
Ensures direct travel funding or timely reimbursement of expenses for required travel and access to travel insurance.
Vacation (Link to Article)
Secures 20 days of vacation time per appointment year earned at 1.67 days per month; to be used within one year. Up to 10 unused vacation days carry over between appointments for a maximum of 30 vacation days.
Wellness (Link to Article)
Provides access to gym facilities for Postdocs living in WCM buildings without a gym and a 24/7 support and crisis hotline, and maintains access to the Employment Assistance Program Consortium (EAPC).
Workplace Rights
Academic Freedom (Link to Article)
Enshrines the right of postdocs to have freedom in their academic pursuits and the dissemination of results. Protects postdocs rights to express themselves and protest peacefully without retaliation or censorship by Weill Cornell Medicine.
Appointment Security (Link to Article)
Ensures continuation of benefits and compensation for the duration of a postdoc’s appointment unless the postdoc is terminated for just cause or voluntarily resigns.
Appointments and Reappointments (Link to Article)
Ensures that appointments are a minimum of 1 year and renewable for a total of 4 years, up to a total of5 years; WCM will provide a longer term DS2019 form to support J-1 visa processing where sufficient funding exists; ensures that all researchers receive written appointment notice with basic information about the position, including summary of anticipated duties, URL for benefits information, visa information, housing information, tax-related resources, and for the Union contract; WCM shall provide notice of non-renewal no sooner than 4 months before appointment end date
Discipline and Dismissal (Link to Article)
Improves postdoc’s job security by establishing “just cause” protections against arbitrary discipline or termination. With “just cause” protections, Weill Cornell Medicine would have to establish good cause for a postdoc to be fired or disciplined.
Grievance and Arbitration (Link to Article)
Establishes a timely and fair process for resolving alleged violations of our contract, which gives us equal footing to enforce the terms we have negotiated. While the contract encourages informal resolution of disputes, postdocs and the Union also have the right to take an unresolved dispute to a neutral arbitrator if a dispute cannot be resolved at earlier steps of the process.
Employment Records (Link to Article)
Establishes researchers’ rights to access, copy, and add comments to employment files maintained by Weill Cornell Medicine. A six-year confidentiality period for employment records is established after a postdoc leaves Weill Cornell Medicine.
Health and Safety (Link to Article)
Codifies in our contract Weill Cornell Medicine’s’s legal obligations regarding health and safety, thereby improving researchers’ ability to protect ourselves from working in unsafe or hazardous conditions including: the right to grieve health and safety problems; the right to relevant health and safety training; provision of proper equipment; protections from being assigned work that poses an immediate danger; protection against retaliation for raising health and safety concerns; and the establishment of a joint Union-WCM health and safety committee.
Intellectual Property (Link to Article)
Ensures that Postdocs have rights to authorship and intellectual property (IP), Principal Investigator status on independent research grants, copyright, IP licensing, to be informed of conflicts of interest. Establishes grievable protections against retaliation for pursuing or participating in complaints. WCM shall use best efforts to provide open access publication fees.
International Researcher Rights (Link to Article)
Establishes new rights and benefits for international researchers: Postdocs may request a specific visa and shall not be denied for arbitrary or capricious reasons; Postdocs will be reimbursed up to $1,5000 for visa stamp renewal related travel and fees; researchers may work remotely if unable to return to the US for reasons outside their control with permission of the PI; WCM will hold a position open for at least 60 days in cases where the researcher has been unable to obtain work authorization; WCM will make best efforts to work with the Union to help a researcher who has proper visa and work authorization documentation but has been barred entry to the US.
Job Postings (Link to Article)
Ensures that WCM shall post appointment opportunities openly and transparently, including relevant information about salary and benefits.
Layoff (Link to Article)
Ensures that Layoffs can only occur due to a lack of appropriate funding.Entitles postdocs to a meeting with WCM ten (10) business days prior to the written notification of layoff to identify alternate funding sources. Grants one calendar month of notice, and establishes recall rights for the duration of the initial appointment in case funding is re-secured post Layoff.
Performance Reviews (Link to Article)
Ensures that PIs may provide Postdoctoral Fellows with an annual formal performance review to serve as a comprehensive assessment of their research progress and achievements in the previous year, and ensures the Postdoctoral Employee the right to file an addendum in case of disagreements with the review.
Professional Development (Link to Article)
Maintains support for training and professional development programs including protected research time; an annual comprehensive program of career development opportunities; the right to work with their PI/mentor to develop and discuss an Individual Development Plan (IDP); eligibility to request financial support for travel and registration for conferences, workshops, training or other relevant professional development opportunities.
Prohibition Against Discrimination and Harassment (Link to Article)
Establishes new rights for researchers to address discrimination and harassment (including sexual harassment and bullying); protection from retaliation and the right to take an unresolved complaint to a neutral arbitrator; the right to union representation during any complaint or grievance process; protection from retaliation from filing a complaint; interim measures to protect postdocs during the investigative process; rights to updating personal information and to keeping sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression private; pregnancy, lactation, disability, and religious accommodations; gender neutral facilities; access to free menstrual products.
Workload (Link to Article)
Establishes protections against arbitrary, unreasonable work schedules as professional, salaried employees; while our workweek is normally at least 35 hours, schedules must be ”reasonable and related to the research needs of the project”. The article also establishes activities such as mentoring, grant writing, and pursuing professional development as actions contributing to our workload, in addition to time spent in the lab.
Workspace and Materials (Link to Article)
Commits WCM to provide workspace, facilities, equipment, materials and access to the internet and other network resources necessary to perform assigned duties; also ensures “timely reimbursement” for any employee approved to purchase required materials, equipment or services.
Union and Management Rights
Recognition (Link to Article)
Codifies recognition of the Union and describes the unit represented by the Union, consistent with our National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case in 2023; commits Weill Cornell Medicine to continue discussing how the parties can engage in collective bargaining over terms and conditions of employment for individuals who receive no salary or stipend remuneration from WCM.
Severability (Link to Article)
Ensures that if any provision of the contract is found to be unlawful, the rest of the contract remains in effect and the parties will negotiate with respect to the provision found to be unlawful.
Union Access (Link to Article)
Ensures that WCM provides our Union with basic information about employees in the bargaining unit; provides Union time and space to orient new employees about their rights under the contract and membership in our Union; provides reasonable time for Postdoc union representatives to handle grievances; and provides reasonable time to attend Union meetings. This article helps us have a strong union.
Union Security (Link to Article)
Ensures that the Union has sufficient resources to engage in effective representation. Researchers would have an obligation to become a Union member and pay dues or pay a fee to share the cost of representation. Dues provide the resources for helping the Union handle grievances and to engage in other types of advocacy.
Union-Management Committee (Link to Article)
Establishes a joint committee to meet at least four times per year to discuss matters affecting Postdocs that are not related to any active grievances.
No Strike No Lockout (Link to Article)
Establishes that during the life of the contract, the Union and Weill Cornell Medicine agree they will resolve disputes under the contract through the process in the contract. To that end, the Union agrees that it will not encourage or sanction a strike and WCM agrees it will not lock out employees while the contract is in effect.
Management Rights (Link to Article)
Reiterates WCM’s right to manage the institution so long as their actions do not violate provisions of our agreement. This is a standard article in union contracts.
Policies and Procedures (Link to Article)
Clarifies that the contract would govern in case of conflicts with WCM policy and that the Union would receive notice in case WCM policy changes impact the working conditions of Postdocs.
Effective Date and Duration (Link to Article)
Establishes a contract duration of three years, ending June 30, 2028.
Mutual Amnesty (Link to Article)
Memorializes that WCMPU-UAW agrees to withdraw pending Unfair Labor Practices charges upon ratification, and will not file additional charges based on facts arising prior to ratification.