Frequently Asked Questions

We are postdoctoral scholars forming a union in order to improve our research and working conditions at the University of Southern California. Our work as researchers and fellows not only drives the research and teaching mission of USC, but also produces diverse scientific knowledge that can benefit the whole world. While we work across many subfields, our dedication to research unites us all.

By forming a union, we can build a stronger, democratic voice for postdocs at USC, with more power to negotiate for improvements and to secure our rights and working conditions into a legally-binding contract.

Forming a union with collective bargaining rights gives us the power to negotiate on equal footing with the USC administration and secure our terms and conditions of employment in a legally-binding contract. Forming a union and joining with tens of thousands of other UAW academic workers will also help us have a stronger voice on key policy decisions made outside the University that affect us as scholars and researchers, such as federal funding for scientific research and federal rules affecting visa and immigrant issues.  

By joining with unionized academic workers nationwide, we hope to make changes that will create more positive work environments for future researchers and improve career pathways for future scientists in the US and beyond.

Forming a union with the United Auto Workers (UAW) in particular means joining tens of thousands of researchers and other higher education employees who are already part of the UAW, postdoctoral researchers at the University of California, University of Washington, Columbia University, Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. We also join the USC Graduate Student Workers and SCA Adjunct Faculty. By working together with these and other academic unions across the country, we can also build political power beyond USC to impact funding, visa, and other policies at the national, state, and local levels that shape our experience in academia as scientists and scholars.

Collective bargaining is a process that equalizes the power relationship between employees and their employer. With collective bargaining, we elect our co-workers to negotiate with the USC administration to put the terms of our employment into a legally-binding agreement that we vote to ratify before it goes into effect. Without collective bargaining, the USC administration retains the unilateral ability to make changes without our consent, and we have few avenues to pursue necessary improvements. 

The first step is building strong support and securing recognition. A majority of USC Postdocs have to sign a card to form a union, and we are continuing outreach to ensure that everyone has a chance to be heard and get involved. Strong majority support gives us more power to get our union recognized and begin the collective bargaining process. 

Under collective bargaining in the UAW, researchers fill out bargaining surveys to articulate priorities for a contract. We also elect representatives, fellow postdocs and researchers, to a bargaining committee. Guided by the feedback in the bargaining surveys, the elected committee develops bargaining goals that we vote to approve, before sitting down with the administration and negotiating contract proposals. Once a tentative agreement is reached, postdocs must vote to accept or reject the contract before it goes into effect.

Thousands of graduate student workers at USC recently bargained with the USC administration and won a union contract. They are also represented by UAW.

Here is the roadmap to forming a union:

USC Researchers and Fellows United (URFU-UAW) seeks to represent anyone who holds a postdoctoral scholar position at the University of Southern California. The union includes all USC employees in any such positions. If you are a researcher at USC and have questions about your eligibility or want to sign up, please contact info [at ] urfu-uaw [dot] org.

It is against the law for USC to retaliate against an employee for exercising their right to organize and participate in union activity. Thousands of USC graduate students have already organized with the UAW and just ratified their first contract. Moreover, tens of thousands of academic workers have exercised union rights, including strikes, at campuses across the US from the University of California and the University of Washington to Columbia, Harvard, and the New School. 

Postdocs and researchers started discussing the idea of forming a union in summer 2023 in response to a lack of sufficient support from USC on a wide range of workplace issues that particularly affected some of the most vulnerable members of our community, including parents and those of us on visas.  Many of us were inspired when GSWOC-UAW, the union for the 3,000 Graduate Student Workers at USC, won their election to join the UAW in February 2023. We reached out to UAW to help us build a representative campaign to establish our own union at USC.

The UAW represents more than 100,000 academic workers across the United States, including more postdocs, researchers, and graduate student employees than any other union. In the last eight years alone over 40,000 academic workers around the country have chosen to become part of the UAW, including nearly 20,000 of them from California.

Read more here about UAW success helping academic workers negotiate concrete improvements to wages, benefits and workplace rights.

The UAW has particular experience with helping to negotiate and enforce strong postdoc and researcher contracts. For example, postdocs and associate researchers at Columbia University in NYC voted by 68% to form their union with the UAW and ratified their first contract by 99% with a majority participating. UConn postdocs overwhelmingly approved their first contract in 2020.  Postdocs at the University of Washington voted by an overwhelming 89% percent to form their union with the UAW. The 7,000 postdocs at the ten University of California campuses approved their first UAW contract in 2010, and those at the University of Massachusetts approved their first contract in 2012. Postdocs at Weill Cornell Medical College voted to form their union by 98.7% and are currently negotiating their first contract.

In the fall of 2022, 48,000 UC academic workers, including thousands of postdocs, academic researchers, student researchers, and other academic student employees, went on strike to win improvements on pay, benefits, and workplace rights, making historic gains. Postdocs voted to ratify their contract by 89.4%. Most recently, in June 2023, postdocs and research scientists and engineers at the University of Washington went on an historic 9-day strike, ratifying union contracts by 98.7% and 98.5%, respectively.

In addition to drawing on the UAW’s wide experience bargaining contracts with academic administrations, we can exercise a stronger political voice through the UAW. With active members at more than 45 major campuses across the US, the UAW has become a strong advocate on policy issues that matter to us as academics, such as federal support for science funding and enhancing the rights of international research scientists.

Membership dues are important because they provide the resources necessary for effective representation. As part of the UAW, we would not pay dues until we have gone through the bargaining process and voted democratically to approve our first contract. Dues are critical for providing us with independent resources that are not controlled by the University: we use them to ensure we have appropriate legal, bargaining, community and staff support to represent postdocs. UAW membership dues are currently 1.44% of gross monthly income and can only be increased by membership action (the membership in a few local unions, for example, have voted to increase dues above 1.44% to have more resources).

No one will be required to pay dues until after we have a contract. In most contracts, since everyone in the bargaining unit must receive all of the benefits of the contract, non-members are generally required to pay a comparable “fair share” fee, so the cost of representation is shared equally. The inclusion of a similar provision at USC would be something we decide as part of our bargaining agenda, would be subject to negotiation with USC administration, and contingent on ratification by researchers as part of our contract. 

Many private sector academic worker unions have such a provision in the contract because it means we have more power and more resources available to enforce our rights under our contract, campaign for the best possible future contracts, and help other academic workers form their own unions. Under the UAW, there is also a one-time initiation fee, which ranges from $10 to $50 and is determined democratically in local union bylaws approved by members.

The value of increased wages and benefits in the first contract typically outweighs the cost of dues, often leading to overwhelming majority approval of those agreements. For example, Columbia postdocs went from having the lowest minimum salaries for postdocs in NYC to the highest in the first year of their contract, an increase of between 14.5% to 20%, along with guaranteed annual increases and other improvements. The base wages for UC postdocs have gone up by more than 50% since they ratified their first contract in 2010.

Dues support a variety of resources that will give us the clout we need to effectively represent our members; these include educational, legal, negotiating, and other membership services. Dues also contribute to organizing new groups of workers, the strike fund, and political action. Right now, the dues of other UAW members are funding our organizing campaign.

Striking is a powerful tool for workers to achieve our objectives. We would decide democratically whether or not to call a strike. Under the UAW constitution, a strike can only occur after a vote in which 2/3 of members voting authorize their elected representatives to call a strike.

Thousands of academic workers have democratically decided to go on strike in the past few years to win their demands. After many months of bargaining in 2023, Postdocs, Academic Researchers, and Graduate Student Workers at the University of California went on strike and won higher pay, increased paid parental leave, and more. Further, postdocs and research scientists at the University of Washington authorized and went on strike until reaching an agreement with administration that significantly increased compensation, provided stronger protections against layoffs, and more.

Further, it is not uncommon for workers to decide that it is necessary to prepare for a possible strike in order to convince a university to reach a reasonable agreement during negotiations. Last fall, USC graduate student workers voted to authorize a strike, bringing the USC administration back to the table and reaching an agreement on paid parental leave, protections against harassment and discrimination, and more that set a new standard for graduate student workers at private institutions nationwide. 

With roughly 100,000 academic workers, the UAW has become a powerful organization advocating to improve conditions for international scholars and students. For years the UAW has fought hard to ensure that the contributions of international workers are elevated and that the terms and conditions of their employment are improved. Recently the UAW helped lead the fight against Executive Orders issued by former President Trump that targeted international scholars and students.

In October of 2020, UAW Academic Workers mobilized against a proposed rule by ICE to shorten visa stays for international scholars; thousands of public comments were submitted, including by the President of the UAW International. In July of 2020, thanks to direct action by UAW Academic Workers across the country, in addition to efforts by allies at universities and in government, ICE backed down from its directive to deport international students taking online classes due to COVID-19. In 2017, the UAW International filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case challenging the Trump administration’s travel ban. The UAW also helped lead the fight to enhance the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program as an important path for international student workers to work in the US after completion of their PhD.

UAW academic unions also provide more resources for researchers on visas at the local level. University of California postdocs have used their union to fight for international researchers who could not return to the US during the COVID-19 pandemic to be able to work remotely. 

International postdocs and researchers have the same legal right to join a union as US citizens. International researchers have been instrumental in organizing and running the University of California postdocs union (UAW Local 5810) and the Columbia Postdoctoral Workers (CPW-UAW Local 4100). Unionization can result in protections that are especially valuable for international academic employees.

The length of time necessary to negotiate a strong first contract has depended on the strength of the campaign and the willingness of the employer to bargain in good faith.  USC could help ensure a timely process by agreeing on a fair and efficient timeframe with regularly scheduled bargaining sessions and a strong commitment to reaching a fair agreement. Last year, USC Graduate Student Workers negotiated their first contract in 8 months. 

At other major research institutions where postdocs and researchers have formed unions, researchers have been able to negotiate significant improvements despite facing opposition from their employers. Postdocs at Columbia University, University of Connecticut, University of Washington, and University of California negotiated for 16 months, 13 months, 13 months, and 18 months respectively. But it is also possible to negotiate much more quickly.  For example, with a serious commitment to reach a fair agreement by the administration, 4,000 student employees at the University of Washington negotiated their first contract in just under two months.

Both a strong union and a postdoc organization can play a critical role in improving the lives of USC postdocs. The USC-sponsored Postdoctoral Association provides important opportunities for postdocs to participate in numerous social and career development opportunities, as well as advocacy efforts, but it is not a viable alternative to a union. While the Postdoctoral Association can make recommendations to the institution on behalf of postdocs, it cannot engage in collective bargaining. Unions and associations like the Postdoctoral Association often work together at academic institutions where both exist.

Postdoctoral scholars make up our union and will democratically prioritize which improvements to pursue in contract negotiations. With a union, researchers will negotiate as equals with the administration for the changes we want to make.

A contract will legally secure those improvements against unilateral changes by the administration. Currently, the administration can change policies and benefits unilaterally, without any obligation to consult those affected.

With a union, we will vote on our contract. If we are unsatisfied with a contract, we can vote against it and go back to the negotiating table.

Postdoctoral scholars have negotiated improvements to their salaries, benefits, family-friendly policies, and workspace and materials; have established fair processes for addressing sexual and other forms of discrimination and harassment; and have negotiated greater job stability and protections for international researchers. Recently, postdoctoral scholars at Mount Sinai negotiated and won the highest postdoc salaries in the country; guaranteed access to affordable housing; and six weeks of paid parental leave. 

Read more about what postdocs and researchers have won at other universities:

• University of California Postdocs (UAW Local 5810)
• Mt. Sinai Postdoctoral Researchers
• University of California Academic Researchers (UAW Local 5810)
• University of Washington Postdocs (UAW Local 4121)
• University of Washington Research Scientists (UAW Local 4121)

Once a union is formed, USC cannot unilaterally alter any terms and conditions of employment—including pay and benefits. Instead, changes to pay and benefits and other terms and conditions of employment are subject to collective bargaining, through which USC administrators must negotiate in good faith with postdoctoral scholars, and postdocs will democratically approve a binding, enforceable contract containing those terms and conditions.

No UAW union for academic workers has negotiated a contract that requires all covered employees to make the same amount. And because we as researchers will make our own decisions about our contract we would likely not negotiate for or vote to approve a contract that requires all postdocs to be paid the same. As an example, we could propose a wage structure like the one that postdocs at the University of California bargained that includes:

1. A minimum salary that exceeds the NIH base wage;
2. Guaranteed annual wage increases;
3. The right of PIs to pay above the scale; and
4. Strong enforcement provisions that enable us to grieve through the union if we don’t receive contractual pay increases.

Postdocs will democratically decide how we want to negotiate pay, but no UAW academic worker contract stipulates that all workers must be paid the same. Instead, UAW academic contracts have established minimum rights on different aspects of researcher working conditions, while preserving the ability of PIs and scholars to negotiate above those minimums.  At both the University of California and Columbia, for example, postdoctoral researchers negotiated pay scales that guarantee minimum salaries but stipulate that the institution may pay more.

Currently, the USC administration determines postdoctoral scholar pay rates and benefits unilaterally, and those rates – as well as projected increases – can be factored into grant proposals to agencies like the NIH. With collective bargaining, we would negotiate as equals with USC over improvements to our pay rates, which would continue to be factored into grant proposals. Postdocs at the University of California and Columbia University, as well as University of Washington, as well as, have used this process to negotiate guaranteed annual increases to their pay rates through collective bargaining.

As a union, researchers will be negotiating with the University, not with our PIs and supervisors, because it is the University’s policies that define our employment conditions. Moreover, researchers will set the bargaining agenda and decide what improvements to prioritize in collective bargaining.

As such, a union contract would only create limitations if postdoctoral scholars democratically choose to bargain over them. And forming a union would mean that the USC administration would not be able to make unilateral changes to working conditions that researchers choose to negotiate in our contract.

In addition, many PIs appreciate working with unionized researchers, because a union contract means PIs do not have to negotiate every term and condition of employment (from wages to health care to leave to childcare to non-discrimination protections to vacation to appointment letter terms, etc) and instead can focus on their research.