Bargaining Update from 3/23
We had a bargaining session yesterday on Wednesday, 3/23. UC’s bargaining team first made us wait half an hour (25% of our scheduled session) before they ultimately arrived at the bargaining table with no proposals despite having over 3 weeks to make progress since our last session.
We passed a counterproposal on the anti-bullying article, Respectful Work Environment. We have reached agreement on much of the language in the article, but a few key issues remain. One is when the new article would go into effect — UC wants to delay implementation until they issue a (still theoretical) systemwide policy. They have refused to say when the policy will be issued (or if at all), so that’s a no-go for us. Another issue is ensuring that there are concrete timelines for interim measures while an investigation is underway. We remain committed to winning strong protections from bullying and abusive conduct and guarantees for their resolution in a timely manner.
UC’s negotiator lies about a childcare subsidy for Postdocs
We also gave an extensive presentation on the prohibitive cost of childcare at UC for Postdoc parents and how this impacts gender equity in the academy. At UC, women are roughly 50% of PhD graduates STEM but make up less than 30% of the faculty. The data shows that the Postdoc period is a critical time to address this gender gap. If UC truly wants to achieve gender equity (UC’s own 2030 goals include increasing faculty diversity), they must invest in family-friendly benefits for Postdocs, including childcare support and increased paid family leave.
UC negotiator, Nadine Fishel, also tried to walk back her 2016 promise to Postdocs at the bargaining table that UC would implement a childcare benefit once UCPath was rolled out (which was complete in 2020), and insinuated that 4 weeks of paid parental leave was enough of a family-friendly benefit. They still have not engaged with our childcare proposal that we passed on 8/11/21, besides asking us to withdraw it completely. This is unfinished business from our last round of negotiations and we are going to hold UC to their promise.
United for a Fair Workplace: Stop Bullying at UC!
Dr. Ambika Kamath, an Assistant Professor in Animal Evolution at University of Colorado at Boulder, has published a powerful (and infuriating) piece about the bullying she experienced as a Postdoc at UCSB. Ambika’s experience is a visceral example of why we are fighting so hard for strong and enforceable protections against bullying in the workplace. Amplifying personal stories like Ambika’s is critical to building the leverage we need to force UC to agree to our proposals. Please take a few minutes to read then share Ambika’s story on Twitter or Facebook and sign on to our demand for a joint bargaining table over issues like bullying.
Contract Extension
Finally, we have agreed with UC to extend our current contract to 4/8/22 while we continue to make progress in bargaining. We have so far reached tentative agreements on 24 articles, but have many outstanding articles that most significantly impact our lives as UC Postdocs, including our proposals on Appointments, Benefits, Compensation, Childcare, Housing, Leaves of Absence, Parking and Transit, International Scholar and Immigrant Support and several more.
In solidarity,
Postdoc Bargaining Team and Alternates
Sarah Arveson, UC Berkeley
Gilbert Bernstein, UC Berkeley
Chris Hart, UC Davis
Adam Davis, UC Davis
Zack Urbach, UC Irvine
Bryan Neumann, UC Irvine
Tim Kodalle, LBL
Jesse Livezey, LBL
James Boocock, UC Los Angeles
SJ Spencer, UC Los Angeles
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
Evan Plunkett, UC Santa Barbara
Tejas Navaratna, UC Santa Barbara
Jordan Eizenga, UC Santa Cruz
Follow your union on Twitter @UAW5810!