This past Wednesday, Postdocs and Research Associates met with Penn management for our 12th Bargaining Session where we continued to fight for a fair contract that provides more job stability and protections from excessive workloads.
During the session:
- We provided a counter proposal on Appointments and Reappointments in which we continued to push for longer minimum appointments to increase our job security. Management insisted that longer appointments will limit the University’s ability to “use” postdocs, ignoring the reality that many Postdocs and Research Associates come to Penn to pursue multi-year projects and that the funding that supports this work is often awarded for multiple years.
- We also provided a new proposal on Layoffs. This is in response to language Penn has included in other proposals that intend to give the University broad leeway to lay off Postdocs and Research Associates before the end of their appointment. Our Layoffs proposal instead specifies a narrower set of circumstances in which layoffs would be permitted and minimize their impact to individual workers.
- Finally, Penn admin introduced a counterproposal on Workload that again eliminated language meant to protect Postdocs and Research Associates from unreasonable work schedules and egregious forms of overwork. In response, we cited the personal testimony delivered last bargaining session as well as numerous other Postdoc contracts that contain the protections we seek. We drafted another counterproposal during the session that reinserted language that would protect against overwork; Penn ultimately signaled that they are close to agreeing to this latest proposal.
- The next bargaining sessions are set for July 29th from 1-5pm. You can RSVP to attend as an observer using this link.
The text of all proposals and counterproposals can be read using the RAPUP-UAW 2025-2026 Bargaining Tracker that will be published on our website and updated after each bargaining session.
During our next bargaining session, we plan to pass back a proposal on International Researcher Rights in response to Penn’s counter. If this is an important issue to you, make sure to attend the session to show your support and to hear how Penn responds. If you have experienced financial or other hardship related to your status as an international researcher that you would be comfortable sharing with a member of the RAPUP-UAW Bargaining Committee, reply to this email and another Postdoc or Research Associate will respond.
In solidarity,
Juhi Farooqui, Postdoctoral Fellow, Medical Ethics and Health Policy (member of RAPUP-UAW Bargaining Committee)
Allison Cohen, Postdoctoral Fellow, Pathobiology (member of RAPUP-UAW Bargaining Committee)
Estela Noguera-Ortega, Research Associate, Radiology (member of RAPUP-UAW Bargaining Committee)
Geordan Stukey, Postdoctoral Researcher, Physiology (member of RAPUP-UAW Bargaining Committee)
Patrick Monari, Postdoctoral Researcher, Psychology (member of RAPUP-UAW Bargaining Committee)
Deborah Minzaghi, Postdoctoral Researcher, Dermatology (member of RAPUP-UAW Bargaining Committee)
Tess Bernhard, Postdoctoral Researcher, Graduate School of Education (member of RAPUP-UAW Bargaining Committee)
On behalf of the RAPUP-UAW Organizing Committee