Greetings,


Thanks to an overwhelming response, the majority of postdocs at Rutgers University have voted to form a union. Soon we will be filing our petition for representation with the NJ Public Employment Relations Commission. At our next meeting, on Wednesday, June 10th (6 PM at 11 Stone Street, New Brunswick), we will discuss the next steps of bargaining a contract for postdocs after we are certified.

We encourage all postdocs to seriously discuss what major issues we would like addressed in our first contract, both formally at our meetings and informally amongst ourselves, as feedback from every one of us is crucial to our effort.

Come to the meeting and be a part of the process.

In the meantime, we are working hard to talk to every Rutgers postdoc about the benefits of unionization. In the card check procedure we are using, every postdoc on payroll has to vote "yes" or "no"--there is no option to abstain. The majority of us have signed authorization cards, meaning that we have cast our "yes" votes. Please realize, however, that those who are still "thinking about it" or who haven't had time to sign a card will count as "no" votes if they still haven't signed when we file our petition.

The most important things we can do right now are (1) to collect as many votes as we can (because a higher vote percentage signifies support for a stronger union, allowing us the ability to win the kinds of improvements we want to make at the bargaining table) and (2) to begin the discussion of what issues we want our union to address first.

What can you do?

  • Email info@rutgerspostdocs.org or call 732-745-0300 to request a union authorization card to vote YES for the union.
  • Download the flyer and spread the word.
  • Attend our next union meeting on Wednesday, June 10th at 6:00pm at 11 Stone Street, New Brunswick, to discuss the next steps towards negotiating a collective bargaining agreement for postdocs.
Rutgers Postdoc Voices for a Union:

 Gary Lu
Pharmacy
The salaries of postdocs are terrible. As a postdoc with an MD and a PhD, I am very aware of the market value of my skill set, and I choose to work at a university and work on research I believe in. Postdoc salaries should come closer to reflecting the true value of what we bring to the university with higher starting salaries and yearly increases like those earned by our unionized colleagues who work with us on grants and in the labs.

Leah Horowitz
Environmental Science
After I earned my Ph.D., I worked in Australia and the UK. In both places, postdocs earn salaries that are 150 percent above the equivalent positions in the U.S. There, contracts were extended over the length of the entire postdoc which means you had greater job security than at Rutgers where contracts have to be renewed every year. While in the UK, I was automatically provided with health care, pension and other benefits of a British citizen although I am American. To come to the U.S., my husband (also a post-doc) and I took major pay cuts. This is tough when you're trying to raise a family, as many post-docs are. By organizing a union and negotiating a contract, we can move closer to the dignified lives enjoyed by our colleagues abroad.

Lemma Ebssa
Entomology
My main concern is lack of clarity on benefits for postdocs. At first I didn't know if I was entitled to paid holidays - which I'm not. I come from Europe where labor law is set by each country; the government, not the employer, determines your rights and benefits. I knew what to expect. At Rutgers I've wasted hours trying to determine my benefits. A union contract will lay this out for postdocs so we can focus on our work -- science. Organizing a union is our first step.