As you may have seen in last week’s Bargaining Update, postdocs and research associates completed a third bargaining session with the Penn administration, and the next sessions have been scheduled for February 26 and March 12. Anecdotally, Penn admin listens more and argues less when there are more postdocs and research associates observing bargaining — they can tell from the attendance that we are all fired up about winning a great contract. RSVP here to observe an upcoming bargaining session.
We will be beginning to introduce economic proposals at the upcoming bargaining sessions. Unlike the non-economic proposals we’ve introduced to date, these will include all the things postdocs and research associates want that the Penn administration would have to pay for, like salary, insurance, paid leave, visa fees, visa travel reimbursement, childcare subsidies, transit passes, etc. You can read and provide input on the proposal drafts via the RAPUP slack, so please reach out to be added!
Finally, as a reminder, there will be two openings on the Bargaining Committee to be filled in the coming weeks. Please reply to this email if you are interested in joining the committee or have any questions! Stay tuned for more information on the election process.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- First Friday RAPUP happy hour: Join us next Friday, February 6th, from 5-8pm at Two Locals Brewing at 3675 Market St Suite 100. [directions here].
- Bargaining Sessions: Our next bargaining session is on February 26 from 1-5pm. RSVP here. You can attend for any portion of the day. Check the #organizing channel on Slack for live updates of bargaining (and reply to this email if you want to be added to Slack).
- Want to help shape a particular contract proposal? Fill out an interest form and get connected with members of the Bargaining Committee!
- Film screening: Postdocs and research associates involved with RAPUP are planning a movie night to watch a documentary about the history of the labor movement. Stay tuned for more details and reply to this email if you’re interested in getting involved with planning the event!
In Solidarity,
Nelanthi Hewa, Postdoctoral Fellow, Annenberg School for Communication
On behalf of the RAPUP-UAW Organizing Committee