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On Tuesday night, we had a bargaining update meeting attended by over 50 members, in which we discussed recent developments in bargaining and were in strong agreement that this contract needs to bring our minimum pay scale up to current national standards in keeping with NIH recommendations. This morning, we met with UW Admin to continue our contract negotiations, specifically over the Wages article. Although we did not reach an agreement over the new contract, we did agree to another bargaining meeting on February 10 and to extend our current contract until February 12th. Bargaining update information is summarized below.
Today, we made a new wage proposal that incorporates the most recent 2021 NIH NRSA fellowship payscale outlining updated salary levels for Postdocs. We proposed that all UW Postdocs who are not being paid these values at a minimum must have their salaries increased to this level on July 1. This is the second increase in the NIH salary scale since we ratified our first contract.
In addition, our Wages proposal automatically incorporates future increases to the NIH scale into our contract. Specifically, we proposed that whenever a Postdoc is appointed, reappointed, or reaches an anniversary date after July 1st, their salary must not be lower than the most up-to-date NIH salary/stipend corresponding to their years of Postdoctoral experience. Our contract does not prevent the UW administration (or departments) from paying postdocs more than this. This proposal incorporates these industry standards by updating the payscale as the NIH updates them. Tying our payscale to the NIH standards ensures that Postdoc salaries at UW won’t fall behind our peer institutions. According to the National Postdoc Association, such annual adjustments “ensure that postdocs are empowered, valued, recognized, and supported in their lives and work as they well deserve. ”
UW Administration has not yet agreed to this proposal, although they are considering it and plan to have a response by our next scheduled Bargaining Session on Wednesday 02/10 at 11am. 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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