October 5, 2022
Yesterday our elected bargaining committee had our first negotiation session with the Sinai administration. We started by introducing ourselves and speaking briefly about our backgrounds and research. We were also joined by national and regional UAW representatives who came to show their support for our efforts to win a fair first contract. Both teams expressed a desire for the process to be positive, productive, and efficient.
We then presented Sinai with our Initial Bargaining Goals, which a majority of postdocs voted to ratify last month by 99.6%, and explained why each goal is a priority for our first contract. After a brief discussion we moved to talking about scheduling more sessions. We emphasized the urgency of both non-economic and economic demands, like salary and housing, and urged Sinai to schedule sessions with this in mind.
We also informed Sinai’s bargaining team that we expect to make concrete proposals on non-economic issues at our next session. We are confident that if we both work in good faith we can reach a fair agreement in a timely manner.
Overall, this session was a positive start and we hope that a productive tone at the table continues. Our next bargaining session will take place on Tuesday, October 11th from 1-3pm.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or thoughts,
In solidarity,
Pooja Viswanathan
Neuroscience
SPOC-UAW Bargaining Committee
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