SPOC-UAW Voting Center

Eligible voters are Postdoctoral Fellows employed by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai during the payroll period ending June 4, 2022.

If you were hired after June 4th you may not be on the voter list. You can still vote, but will be asked to vote subject to challenge. Your ballot will still be kept secret inside its envelope, but it will be placed in an outer envelope marked as challenged and counted only if the total number of challenged ballots would determine the outcome.

Yes! We encourage everyone to vote. Challenged individuals can vote in the same way as non-challenged individuals, however challenged ballots will only be counted if they are determinative of the outcome (that is, if the number of challenged ballots cast is greater than the difference between non-challenged Yes and No votes).

Yes. This is how most elections work in the US. We encourage every eligible voter to make your voice heard.  A strong “yes” vote in advance of bargaining creates more momentum and a mandate for negotiating a strong contract.

The question on the ballot is “Do you wish to be represented for purposes of collective bargaining by Sinai Postdoctoral Organizing Committee-UAW, International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America?” As postdocs, we make up our union, SPOC-UAW, and the more of us who vote yes, the more power we will have to negotiate a strong first contract with the Mount Sinai administration.

The Patricia and Robert Levinson Student Center is located on the first floor of Annenberg, past the elevators near the Starbucks.

When you enter the polling location, enter the student center or join the line if there is one while maintaining a safe social distance. You will be asked for your name to determine whether you are on the voter list. If not, you can still vote but will be asked to cast your ballot subject to challenge. Then you will be directed to cast your ballot, after which you will exit the voting location.

The ballot count is expected to take place directly after the polls close. We hope to be able to announce a result shortly after that.

If we win our union election, Sinai will have a legal obligation to bargain with us over the terms and conditions of our work at the institute.

We have compiled an extensive FAQ here. If you can’t find the information you’re looking for, please email us at info@sinaipostdocunion.org.

The decision issued by the NLRB means that the vote will be only in-person and each voter must cast their own ballot.

If the majority of postdocs vote “yes”, we expect that there will be more ways to participate in our campaign for a fair contract, including both in person and remote options.