Big Win for International Scholars!
Last week, the Biden Administration expanded eligibility for the STEM-OPT to include 22 new degree fields, in addition to improvements in J-1 and O-1 visas and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver process. These are big wins for international scholars, and our union has been pushing hard for these changes. We also fought hard for and won the STEM-OPT expansion in 2016, and beat back Trump-era policies that would have imposed restrictions on international scholars. Creating a stronger research community creates better research. Contact the International Scholars Working Group at internationalscholars@
Bargaining Update from 1/25/22
We were ready to bargain at the start of the 2-hour session but UC’s team decided to spend the first 30 minutes in their caucus room. It has been a week since our last session so this (again) demonstrates the UC is showing up unprepared. When they finally arrived, they presented a non-binding “supposal” responding to our Professional Development package in which we proposed quarterly immigration workshops open to all Postdocs. UC rejected the sessions (for vague and unclear reasons) but instead suggested creating a list of web links to international offices at UC campuses or forcing Postdocs to pay extra fees to access immigration education and advice. This won’t cut it — the majority of Postdocs at UC are international scholars, and UC must recognize this and offer real, widespread support to international Postdocs who face inequities in career development.
We also passed a proposal on Union Access and Rights which would ensure all new Postdocs get an union orientation on their rights and benefits — this will help avoid common pay and benefit issues due to UCPath. UC didn’t respond but we’re hoping to wrap up this topic at the next session. UC’s only proposal was on Nondiscrimination, and while UC dropped some of its harmful provisions that slow resolutions, they still want the ability to change the definitions of sexual harassment and discrimination at any time. This would vastly undermine the current contract, and we told them in no uncertain terms that we refuse to move backwards on this crucial issue. You can find these proposals amongst all others on this tracker.
Member Participation = Bargaining Power
Member participation is critical to winning a strong contract. The bargaining committee holds weekly meetings that are open to all Postdoc members. There are lots of ways to fight for issues you’re passionate about! Click here to get involved!
In solidarity,
Postdoc Bargaining Team and Alternates
Sarah Arveson, UC Berkeley
Gilbert Bernstein, UC Berkeley
Chris Hart, UC Davis
Tim Kodalle, LBL
Jesse Livezey, LBL
Brad Barker, UC Merced
Ingrid Padilla Espinosa, UC Merced
Tyler Bell, UC San Diego
Adam Caparco, UC San Diego
Jade Moore, UC San Francisco
Anne Sapiro, UC San Francisco
Caitlin Taylor, UC Santa Barbara
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