We held an informational town hall with postdocs from across departments and unionized colleagues from Mount Sinai, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Columbia.
Last week the administration launched a website claiming to provide us with information on our current effort of unionization. We were disappointed to find that the website included statements that are misleading and, in some cases, factually inaccurate.
In particular, their “frequently asked questions” page seems primarily intended to persuade us to vote “no” in our election next week. We have therefore provided a side-by-side response to these points to ensure that postdocs have access to information Einstein leaves out about collective bargaining. Read the response on our website.
In their FAQ, Einstein also makes explicit that they would “prefer” that we do not unionize, and that they think we would be “better off” without the ability to engage in collective bargaining, as our colleagues at Columbia, Mount Sinai, and Weill Cornell Medicine do with their administrations. While disappointing, it is unsurprising that Einstein has taken this position because once we vote “yes”, they will have to share decision-making power with us over our working conditions.
It is therefore all the more important that we pay attention to empirical evidence as we prepare to vote next week on May 15th and 16th. A strong majority voting “yes” is an important step to ensure that we have a strong mandate for improvements when we begin bargaining with Einstein!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any of your questions or concerns. To get more involved in efforts to form our union, click here.
Best,
Juliane Grimm, Cell Biology
Member of ERU-UAW Organizing Committee