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On Friday, we met with UW Admin for our last bargaining session before our contract expires on Sun 1/31. We did not reach an agreement over the new contract. We agreed to another bargaining meeting on February 3rd and submitted a proposal to extend our contract through to the end of that day. Today’s bargaining session is summarized below.
This morning we maintained our proposal that all Postdocs should be brought onto the 2020 NIH scale on July 1. We also proposed that Postdocs above scale receive a one-time retention adjustment of 4% in lieu of guaranteed annual increases for the next two years to ensure an equitable increase in a predictable manner.
In response, UW Admin maintained their proposal for implementing the 2020 NIH scale only upon appointment or reappointment starting April 1 and that any pay increases to Postdocs above scale would be at University discretion starting April 1. UW Admin did propose maintaining our current 2% increases to Postdocs above scale upon reappointment only until April 1, and a memorandum that would allow us to bargain over raises for Postdocs who didn’t receive raises if the administration provides for merit increases to professional staff.
Today we also learned that the NIH just updated the NRSA NIH Postdoc Fellowship payscale, increasing the fellowship stipend by approximately 2% at each experience level. This payscale is used as a nationally recognized standard for Postdoc pay. With the announcement of the new 2021 increase, the current scale in our contract is even further behind national standards and our peers whose contractual minimums increase automatically with the most current scale. For example, this new scale will be automatically incorporated into the UC Postdoc Union UAW 5810’s minimum wage scale.
Our next Postdoc Membership meeting will be on Tuesday, 02/02 at 5 PM. We urge all Postdoc Members to attend this very important meeting. RSVP here for Zoom information.
Our next scheduled Bargaining Session will be on Wednesday 02/03 at 9am. Please email us if you have questions or comments, or would like to talk with a bargaining committee member. For a full list of current bargaining proposals and the bargaining updates archive, please visit our Postdoc Bargaining Center.
And one last reminder that all Postdoc members are welcome at the bargaining table – to learn more about the bargaining process and get involved, please email uaw4121@uaw4121.org.
Sincerely,
UAW 4121 Postdoc Bargaining Committee
Tanya Brown, Biology
Leandro Casiraghi, Biology
Amanda Clouser, Medicinal Chemistry
Max Friedfeld, Chemistry
Colleen Hoffman, CICOES & Oceanography
Tim Mackie, Pharmacology
Kim Meier, Psychology
Erin Morgan, Epidemiology
Anzela Niraula, Metabolism, Endocrinology & Nutrition
Elena Pandres, Chemical Engineering
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