WITH A MONTH TO PREPARE, PENN DISRESPECTS ITS WORKERS BY BRINGING A SINGLE PROPOSAL TO BARGAINING
Last Friday was the fifteenth time that Postdocs and Research Associates met with Penn admin to bargain a first contract. With nearly a month since the last bargaining session and seventeen proposals to respond to, Penn admin had ample time and material to work with in advance of the meeting. Approximately thirty Postdocs and Research Associates attended the session as observers, packing the bargaining room and expecting serious responses from Penn on a number of high priority topics. However, in a disappointing sign of unpreparedness, Penn admin only brought a single counterproposal to discuss. Turning out to observe future bargaining sessions in large numbers will show Penn that their inaction on key issues is unacceptable. RSVP to observe the next session on Tuesday, September 22 using the button below.
Postdocs and Research Associates packed the bargaining room to observe the session on Friday, September 11th.
Also during the last bargaining session:
- Penn admin introduced a single counterproposal on Management Rights and was not prepared to respond to any other of the 17 proposals that are in their hands.
- We reiterated the importance of securing longer initial appointment lengths as a means to allay the financial insecurity, stress, and uncertainty that result from single year appointments, the norm for a vast majority of postdoctoral workers at Penn. In response, Penn admin accused Postdocs and Research Associates of trying to “solve for a problem that does not exist,” and even suggested that the stress caused by one year appointments is beneficial to the University because it forces Postdocs and Research Associates to “be more productive.” These arguments deny the real experience of postdoctoral scholars from across the university. While Penn admin continues to assert that the status quo of single-year appointments and informal renewal expectations is acceptable, a strong majority of Postdocs and Research Associates disagree, with hundreds citing “increased appointments lengths” as a top priority in a first contract.
- The next bargaining session will take place on Tuesday, September 22nd at 1pm.
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.
In solidarity,
Santanu Ghosh, Postdoctoral Researcher, Cancer Biology
On behalf of the RAPUP-UAW Organizing Committee