Earlier today, postdocs delivered an open letter signed by over 80% of our colleagues to Dean Tomer’s office calling on Einstein to agree to a fair contract that will allow us to pursue our research with security and dignity.
After a year and a half of bargaining, Einstein is still refusing to commit to basic rights that are increasingly standard at peer institutions around the city. This letter makes it clear to Einstein that a fair contract is more urgent than ever — read the letter here.
Please join us at the upcoming bargaining session on Monday, March 23rd, from 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM ET, to help amplify this message directly to Einstein’s bargaining team. RSVP here.
Now, on to the bargaining update!
On February 9th, February 23rd, and March 9th, we had our 35th, 36th, and 37th bargaining sessions with the Einstein administration.
For these meetings, we provided proposals on the following critical articles: Appointment Security: Appointments and Reappointments, Professional Development, Intellectual Property, and Discipline and Dismissal. After a persistent effort at the table, we are proud to announce a major win!
We have reached a tentative agreement on Discipline and Dismissal!
This is a significant milestone because the Discipline and Dismissal article establishes clear and fair procedures that protect postdocs from disciplinary actions without just cause. This Tentative Agreement (TA) also ensures that discipline or dismissal is a transparent process — a critical safeguard for those whose careers and/or immigration status are profoundly affected by disciplinary actions.
We’ve exchanged counterproposals on multiple other topics, which, as always, can be viewed in their entirety on the Bargaining Tracker. However, we feel it’s most urgent to highlight a few core issues on which we were deeply concerned about Einstein’s positions.
Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation — Einstein has continued to propose language on this topic that falls far short of the standard set at peer institutions. They have refused to commit to protections against bullying and mistreatment, despite the fact that these issues are rampant in academia.
Appointment Security: Appointments and Reappointments — Einstein’s proposals for short-term appointments and weak job security make it clear that they view postdocs as expendable. The longer initial appointments we’ve proposed would provide stability and security for postdocs who have often uprooted their lives to contribute to Einstein’s research mission.
Health and Safety — After delaying their response to our last proposal on Health and Safety for nearly five months, the proposal Einstein brought to the table showed no meaningful engagement with the significant concerns we had raised. Instead, their edits seemed mostly aimed at making the proposal more similar to the status quo policy.
Our next in-person session is scheduled for Monday, March 23, 2026, from 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM ET. Click here to RSVP if you’d like to attend this or a future session to see the process firsthand!
As always, we encourage you to reach out with questions, concerns, or feedback by simply replying to this email.
In Solidarity,
Federica Zanotti, Cell Biology
ERU-UAW Bargaining Committee