About Us

Benjamin Swedlund

Stem Cell Institute

As international postdoctoral fellows, we face persistent challenges around visa renewal, tax issues, and contract instability, and we don’t always find the necessary support and information to address these issues. Moreover, despite being a vital force driving research and innovation within academia, we as postdocs don’t always receive the competitive benefits that should accompany our pivotal role in the system. Since starting my postdoc over one year ago, these issues have distracted me from my research, impacting my productivity and wellbeing. I believe that through collective organization and voicing of our concerns, we have a better chance of rendering this job more attractive by advocating for improved compensations, stability, and well-being. This, in turn, will not only benefit individual postdocs but also positively influence the work culture within academia.

Suzana Gonçalves Leles

Marine and Environmental Biology

I am a postdoctoral fellow at USC investigating how microorganisms might adapt to a warmer climate in the ocean. When I changed contracts from postdoctoral scholar to fellow, there was a lack of orientation regarding the change in the payment process which delayed my pay for a month. After a year, my fellowship stipend increased. However, upon requesting the adjustment, not only was my pay raise not implemented, but my payment was also delayed for four months. Unfortunately, USC did not detect this error in their system. As an international postdoc and first-generation scholar, with the additional responsibility of financially supporting my father in my home country, this situation posed a significant risk of financial instability. I believe that a union can play a crucial role in protecting individuals in situations like mine providing us with a collective voice to ensure our rights.

FNU Sukrampal

Physics and Astronomy

As an international postdoctoral scholar-research associate, I strongly advocate for the unionization of postdocs at USC. Even after six months of working here, I have not received any onboarding from USC. I expected them to organize an orientation to provide us with the required details and information for onboarding, taxes, salary, benefits, and facilities available for us. The lack of support gave me a feeling of underconfidence, which affected my mental state and research productivity during the early days. By forming a postdoc union, researchers can bargain with the administration to establish more support for postdoctoral scholars. They thus can create a more equitable and supportive environment for all early-career researchers.

Rushil Zutshi

Public Policy

I believe that all postdoctoral scholars are indispensable to the projects that they work on and deserve to be compensated equally and fairly for it. As one of the many international scholars at USC, I was surprised by the university’s lack of support around onboarding, housing, and immigration formalities (most of which I had to figure out myself while trying to complete my dissertation). Many of my colleagues struggle to get by. I believe a union would offer scholars bargaining power and a seat at the table to advocate for their interests in a manner that is effective and fair.

Anaísa Coelho

Physics and Astronomy

I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and although I have had a great time working in my group and have been lucky to be employed by a PI who cares about our rights, I have realized that not everyone has an optimal experience. It is incredibly unfair that our working experience at USC is so dependent on which lab and department we find ourselves in. Especially for those of us who are international researchers, concerns about housing, visa problems, tax issues, financial pressure, family planning, or saving for retirement often reduce our research time and negatively affect the morale of postdoctoral researchers. Forming a union at USC will give us a bigger voice to enhance our salaries and benefits, provide more protections for those of us on visas, and create a less stressful experience overall for postdocs, because at the end of the day, our goal should be to do quality research and focus on our careers, not worry about the next salary or affordable housing.

Dani Cotton

Chemistry

I’m a postdoc developing chemical systems to capture and release carbon dioxide, and I strongly support USC’s postdocs and researchers unionizing. As a researcher, part of my work is in a user facility with poor ventilation, and delayed building maintenance means every rainy day we deal with a leaky roof in a chemistry lab intended for water free reactions. Researchers are usually told to just adapt to these conditions, which takes time and focus away from my research. By coming together in a union, us postdocs and researchers can find commonsense changes we want to see and advocate for resources and support so that issues like these are quickly addressed.

Connie Valencia

Population and Public Health Sciences

I am a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Population and Public Health Sciences.  My work is focused on understanding lived experiences, facilitators and barriers of civic engagement in issues related to environmental injustices among low income residents that live in overburdened communities.  Postdocs face a variety of pressures and challenges related to late pay, access to affordable childcare and administrative issues.  For example, in my department at least 5 postdocs have been paid late and as a result have accrued late fees.  Creating a union among postdocs will help us address various challenges collectively and identify solutions that may help reduce the number of issues experienced by current and future colleagues.   

Yen-Ching Chang

Zilkha Neurogenetics Institute

I am a Research Associate at the Zilkha Neurogenetics Institute at USC. As an international scholar, I understand the intricacies involved in navigating a foreign academic and cultural landscape. In my lab, we have encountered difficulties in securing funding and I faced a challenging time figuring out how I could transition to another kind of visa or if there were any fellowships or funding opportunities I could apply for independently to maintain my status. This process caused delays in submitting my research paper. I feel the school doesn’t offer enough information or help, especially for professional development. I can only discuss these matters with my advisor, who also doesn’t quite understand the resources that international postdocs can access. Over the years, I have only received minimal wages to survive in LA. Hopefully, by forming a union, researchers can have a platform to address issues such as visa concerns, equitable working conditions, and access to essential resources.

Brittany Bennett

Marine and Environmental Biology

I’m a postdoctoral scholar studying the basic biology of some of the most highly abundant yet most poorly understood bacteria living in aquatic systems. When I was coming back to work from maternity leave, I had to fight to find a private space in my building to take care of my lactation needs, and HR was no help at all. Forming a union would force the university to make sure the needs of new parents are actually being met as they come back to campus.

Chase James

Marine and Environmental Biology

I am a postdoctoral researcher studying how phytoplankton evolution might drive changes in community dynamics in a warming ocean. I am keenly aware of the financial pressures faced by academic workers in an expensive region such as Southern California. In the short term, these pressures can affect our mental and physical health.  For instance, I commonly experience long commute times that can make it difficult to prioritize working out during the week. In the long term, a lack of financial support means that saving money and investing in my future feels unobtainable as a postdoc. This has led myself, and many of my peers to strongly consider whether alternate career paths are not only more viable but perhaps a necessity. With a union, I feel that academia would become a more realistic and feasible career choice.

Shweta Mendiratta

Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine

I am a Research Associate in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at USC, where I study the therapeutic potential of targeting polycomb proteins in leukemia. After I moved to the United States, administrative paperwork delayed my start at USC by almost 6 months. The delay was frustrating, and I was unsure about when exactly I would finally be able to start, which caused a financial burden when it came to daily expenses. In addition, research associates and postdocs deal with opaque pay disparities, expensive medical coverage, and lack of support for childcare.  I think forming a union is very important to support our community. By supporting each other, we can improve working conditions and create a healthy working environment.

Stepp Mayes

Civil and Environmental Engineering

I am a postdoc in Environmental Engineering. I support forming a union because it is the only way to guarantee our rights as workers. Right now, our compensation, time off, workload and general working conditions are at the discretion of our advisors. Unionizing allows us to ensure that every postdoc receives fair treatment. 

Branden Adams

History

I am a Postdoctoral Scholar – Teaching Fellow in the History Department and a parent. I teach first-year students and History majors. My partner recently lost her job, and we needed to switch to USC’s family healthcare plan. The monthly premiums are exorbitant, and the salary is too small to cover the high costs. University of California Postdocs bargained for dependent health insurance in their contract and won affordable health plans. USC needs to fix this problem, and I know that we postdocs can band together to make it happen.

Vivian Link

Quantitative and Computational Biology 

I am a postdoc at USC investigating the genetic basis of quantitative traits and diseases. Postdocs are essential contributors to academic research, yet it often feels as though we are an afterthought. It was only thanks to helpful people in my department that I received the onboarding information I needed when I first arrived from abroad. Depending on what is cheapest for the university, we are either treated as students (e.g. no retirement plans), or employees (e.g. no access to campus doctors). Last year, when I was preparing to give birth, I realized that while USC has world class hospitals, we as postdocs do not have access to them because they are not in our health care network. A union will create a stronger voice and push for the rights that we deserve (paid parental leave!). 

Sean Angst

Equity Research Institute

My name is Sean Angst and I am a postdoc in Dornsife fighting for a union so that we all get the same health and parental benefits that other full-time staff receive. I strongly believe that postdocs are stronger when we act collectively and a union will help us gain the compensation we deserve as well as benefits that will allow us to be successful at our jobs and take care of our families.

Arbor Quist

Population and Public Health Sciences

As a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, I work with communities in LA County to research local environmental justice issues, including how malodors affect public health. During my time as a postdoc at USC, I have struggled with many administrative issues, including multiple delayed paychecks and difficulties being onboarded and reappointed; these issues have caused financial stress and have hindered my ability to focus on my research. With a union, we will be able to use our collective power to bargain for important changes that will help us create a more supportive workplace.

Salem Elzway

History

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at USC where I teach undergraduate GESMs and research the history and political economy of automation. Recently I relocated to Los Angeles from Philadelphia to begin my appointment and the university was unwilling to directly reimburse the sizable moving expenses. USC gave me the option of using my research budget to make up the difference which depleted it almost entirely, and now I will have to delay an article submission. Having the resources to perform cutting-edge research critical to our work is essential, particularly in an increasingly precarious labor market, and a union will help us guarantee that postdocs and researchers have access to adequate funding to advance our careers.

Nathan L. R. Williams

Marine and Environmental Biology

I’m a postdoctoral researcher investigating marine microbes in the ocean. For our first 6 months in America, whilst waiting for work permits, my wife and I were forced to live on a single salary despite her having college level education. We struggled to afford necessities (groceries, gas, gym, bills and fees associated immigration). I believe USC should provide financial support for international postdocs to relieve this pressure. Also, postdocs in many cases don’t have large salaries and are afforded a low amount of paid leave, but miss out on both student benefits and USC related staff benefits. This creates financial and work-life balance pressure, which both foster poor mental health, hindering productivity. I believe that a postdoc union is critical to creating stability for postdocs, enabling them to excel in their careers, contribute groundbreaking science and increase USC’s research output.

Hagen Buck-Wiese

Marine and Environmental Biology

Moving to the US from Germany as a postdoctoral researcher meant exiting a social security network that not only encompasses rights to state and federal benefits, but also nearby family and friends. Naturally, no government or employer can compensate for the care provided by loved ones. However, the concomitant loss of a full, earned year of support in case of unemployment, months of paid parental leave including for fathers and powerful employee rights in case of injury or illness among others could be, and in my opinion should be offset by our employer; especially in the case of such an esteemed institution as USC. The social and financial insecurity that I experienced discouraged me from coming, strained my mental health, and conflicts with any ambitions to start a family. I support a postdoc union to improve the situation for both domestic and international researchers by creating a safety net that allows us to focus on our work.