UPDATES
The Weekly RAPUP: January 26, 2026
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...
Bargaining Update #3
TWO NEW TAs; ALL NON-ECONOMIC PROPOSALS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED Last Thursday, postdoctoral workers and research associates met with the Penn administration for a second bargaining session. Read below for updates. During the session: The two sides reached Tentative...
Bargaining Update #2
POSTDOCS AND RESEARCH ASSOCIATES REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT ON FIVE CONTRACT PROPOSALS DURING BARGAINING SESSION #2 Yesterday, postdoctoral workers and research associates met with the Penn administration for a second bargaining session. During the session: ...
Bargaining Update #1
Yesterday, for the first time, postdoctoral workers and research associates sat across the table as equals with the Penn administration in our first bargaining session. In a show of strength and unity, over 25 postdocs and research associates joined our nine-person...
Complete a RAPUP-UAW bargaining survey and have your voice heard!
After last month’s overwhelming vote for unionization, it is time for Postdocs and Research Associates to determine what they want to see in a contract! If you have not done so already, can you take five minutes to complete a RAPUP-UAW bargaining survey? The...
Notice of Nomination and Election for the RAPUP-UAW Bargaining Committee
Nominations are hereby declared open for the Research Associates and Postdocs United at Penn-UAW (RAPUP-UAW) Bargaining Committee. The Bargaining Committee will be composed of nine (9) positions. All eligible Union supporters (all Postdoctoral Researchers,...
The National Labor Relations Board has certified our union!
Earlier today, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) officially certified the results of last week’s election. Across two days of voting, a majority of Postdocs and Research Associates participated in our historic election to form a union, with 95% of the votes...
We Voted Union Yes!
The NLRB just finished counting ballots and we voted by a resounding 95% (703-yes to 38-no), in favor of Research Associates and Postdocs United at Penn - UAW (RAPUP-UAW) as our union! Now that Postdocs and Research Associates have overwhelmingly voted to unionize, we...
The Weekly RAPUP #8
Penn administrators have resorted to sending mass text messages and emails to postdoctoral workers, directing them to a website presented as a neutral source of information but filled with misleading anti-union messaging. Thankfully, Postdocs and Research Associates...
The Weekly RAPUP #7
Instead of agreeing to a timely and democratic election like neighboring institution Johns Hopkins University, Penn is delaying the process for months by claiming its academic researchers are merely “temporary employees.” While we wait for the National Labor Relations...