Postdocs had another long day of bargaining yesterday where we passed over counter proposals on 8 different topics, some of which were with Research Staff. The counters are summarized below:
| Article/MOU | Postdocs’ Proposals Yesterday |
|---|---|
| 8: Health and Safety | Establish more protections around field safety plans, anti-retaliation training, and hazardous waste pickup. |
| 12: Intellectual Property & Academic Rights | Remove time restriction to Postdocs becoming Principal Investigators on grants at UW. |
| 16: Non-Discrimination & Harassment | Continue to protect categories from harassment and discrimination including medical condition, ethnic origin, caste, political affiliation, and union membership status. |
| 24: Time Off and Leave | Maintain PFML protections, and create equivalent paid leave pathways for Postdocs on fellowships. |
| 27: Transportation | Maintain Postdocs’ right to be notified of parking policy changes. |
| 36: Reasonable Accommodation | Maintain how accommodations are accessed, and ensure UW gives prompt answers with reason to potential denials. |
| MOU: EPIC | Reassert Postdoc and Research Staff’s proposal to increase support for the EPIC program. |
| MOU: Transition Support | Reassert Postdoc and Research Staff’s gender transition support plan, which UW rejected without consideration last session. |
UAW members have now passed nearly all of our initial articles over to Admin, and yesterday was focused on counters to University of Washington’s proposals. Postdocs are coming together to build common ground and move towards some of Admin’s concerns as a show of good faith, while staying true to the core demands set by hundreds of Postdocs: fighting for protections for minorities, better protections and stability for Postdocs on visas, wages that meet the rising cost of living in Seattle, and extended rights and better conditions for all of us.
Postdocs are still waiting for UW Admin to counter the most critical articles that UAW members passed at our first bargaining session (e.g. wages and international workers’ rights). Meanwhile, Admin has passed a few counters to minor articles. University of Washington Admin has taken an obstinate position, and failed to bargain quickly to meet Postdoc needs.
UW Admin wants to get away with doing the minimum. Postdocs haven’t had professional development support since 2023. We pushed UW Admin to begin redeveloping those resources by winning language last year in our contract, but yesterday, UW Admin proposed striking that language from our current contract. Admin’s team said that they have met their contractual obligation to Postdocs after it took a full year to put together a “bare bones website” and a few workshops, and that we should trust them not to cancel the program again. As Postdocs, we deserve a clear commitment from UW to develop resources that match peer institutions in a timely manner.
Our power to hold UW Admin accountable comes from every Postdoc taking collective action together and pooling our resources through union membership. If you’re already a member, reply to this email with “I’m in” to find out about ways to get involved.
See all of the latest contract article language on the Postdoc Bargaining Portal. And RSVP to join a future bargaining session to hear what UW Admin has to say about you and your work.
In Solidarity,
Winston Dredge
Mateo Lopez Espejo
Cassandra Henderson
Haruki Hirasawa
Jake Sacks
Gourav Khullar
Ryan Friedman
Natalie Wellen