We updated you earlier this evening on Sinai’s proposal and the remaining differences we are trying to bridge to reach an agreement. In an effort to continue making progress, we prepared a counter with significant movement, which we emailed Sinai earlier this evening. Click here to read our responses.
We accepted most of Sinai’s proposed framework on the parental leave bank of 6 weeks (30 working days), but added that the bank can be refilled after a leave of absence so that it can be taken for each child, similar to Columbia’s parental leave benefit.
We simplified our proposal on childcare by accepting their rejection of a new reimbursement benefit, instead asking that Mount Sinai contribute $5000 annually to a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for each postdoc, to be used for childcare expenses. Sinai already provides access to dependent care FSA, but does not currently make contributions. These two moves make our demands of parental benefits comparable in size and effect to those won by unionized postdocs at Columbia.
We reasserted our demand for guaranteed housing for postdocs for the first four years of their appointment but accepted Sinai’s rejection of an additional stipend for postdocs who have already been denied or terminated housing. While we believe that these postdocs should receive financial support to account after being forced out of housing, we decided to make this move to move us closer to the size of Sinai’s overall economic package.
We also moved to a minimum compensation of $74,000 and reduced the experience- and inflation-based increases to the minimum scale. This move reduces the value of our salary proposal to almost to the level of Sinai’s proposal.
We will keep you updated if Sinai agrees to meet again this evening. In the meantime, we are prepared to strike. Please stand by for further updates with logistical information for the strike.
In solidarity,
Pooja Viswanathan
SPOC-UAW Bargaining Committee