Majority of All UC Postdocs Vote "Yes" to Authorize UAW 5810's Bargaining Team to Call Strike
Berkeley, CA (PRWEB) September 03, 2016 -- 3,468 postdoctoral scholars at all 10 campuses of the University of California voted resoundingly to authorize their bargaining team to call a strike if circumstances justify. UAW Local 5810 represents 6,000 postdocs at the University of California, and together they make up the backbone of UC’s research mission. Of the 3,590 postdocs who cast a ballot, 3,468 (or 96.6%) voted to authorize the bargaining team to call a strike.
“This wave of postdoc participation--a majority of all postdocs--sends a message that postdocs are paying attention to what happens at the bargaining table,” said Anke Schennink, President of UAW 5810, the union that represents postdocs at UC. “Postdoc work is incredibly valuable to UC and society more broadly. We encourage UC to bargain in good faith and work with the union to reach a mutually satisfactory contract by the time the current agreement expires on September 30.”
“My colleagues and I follow bargaining closely because our workplace rights, salaries, and benefits create the context in which we do our research," said Adam Wier, postdoc in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at UCSD.
UC has a sterling international reputation for research and brings in over $6 billion in research grants. Postdocs, who have already earned their PhD degrees, do groundbreaking work at labs across UC on topics ranging from cancer research to climate change modeling and more.
UAW 5810 and UC have bargained fourteen days since negotiations began in May of this year and are scheduled to bargain fourteen more days before the current contract expires on September 30, 2016.
UAW Local 5810 represents 6,000 postdocs at UC. You can learn more at http://www.UAW5810.org, or join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Jacob Burstein-Stern, UAW 5810, http://uaw5810.org/, +1 (206) 954-1938, [email protected]
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