Postdoctoral researchers at 7 UC campuses demand terms of new contract

By Pamela Larson and Frances Fitzgerald

With the contract between the University of California and the postdoctoral researchers’ union set to expire in two weeks, postdocs at seven UC campuses delivered to their respective chancellors more than 3,000 signatures, calling for the university to adopt their terms in the next contract.

The demands of better, family-friendly policies; equal rights for international postdocs; and fair compensation were developed by the union — United Auto Workers 5810 — before bargaining began in May, according to UC Davis postdoc and UAW 5810 President Anke Schennink. The signatures used in the protest represent a majority of the university’s 6,000 postdocs who support the union’s bargaining team in issuing a vote to authorize a strike.

“I’m hoping that the university administration will see us as a serious, united force,” said Lydia Majure, a UC Berkeley postdoc in neuroscience and a head steward for the union. “Because if they see us, they really can’t rely on indifference from the postdocs. We’re not indifferent — we care, and we’re willing to fight.”

UC Office of the President spokesperson Kate Moser said in an email that the university continues to negotiate in good faith with UAW 5810 and hopes to reach an agreement before the end of the month. UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore said in an email that the campus supports the university’s efforts to “reach a fair and amicable resolution in the near future.”

The university has seen multiple labor disputes culminate in protests and negotiated contracts in the past two years. Four other systemwide union bodies — the service union, academic student employees union, patient care union and newly formed physicians’ and dentists’ union — have gone on strike since 2013. Most recently, the ASUC Student Union Board reexamined a contract with Chartwells, a private contractor for the new Student Union complex, to increase wages for contracted employees.

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[Source]: Daily Californian