Before diving into the bargaining update, we wanted to share two opportunities to participate in union action in the next few days.
1. This Sunday, there will be a Tax the Rich rally with Bernie Sanders here in the Bronx! UAW Region 9A is a co-sponsor of the event, and unionized researchers from around the city will be in attendance. Click here to register, and reply to this email if you’d like to coordinate with other union members who plan to attend!
2. For the past several months, alongside organized researchers from across the state, we have been urging the New York State legislature to add an additional $100M to the Governor’s proposal for state-based science funding in this year’s New York State budget, bringing the total for the initiative up to $165M. We have also been pushing to make sure this includes funding for workforce development and fellowships that support early-career researchers. The deadline for passing the final budget for New York State FY26-27 is April 1st. With this date quickly approaching, it is essential for us to define this as a priority for New Yorkers. You do not need to be a citizen or a researcher to send a letter, so don’t hesitate to participate and share with your community!
Now, on to the bargaining update!
On Monday, March 23rd, we had our 38th bargaining session with the Einstein administration. This was our first session since we delivered our open letter calling for a fair agreement, signed by more than 80% of postdocs at Einstein (156 signatures) to Dean Tomer’s office.
We were able to make immediate progress at the session — we won a Tentative Agreement on Workspace and Materials! This agreement ensures that Einstein will provide the workspace, facilities, equipment, resources, and materials necessary for us to do our jobs. When we organize and speak with one voice, we can win major improvements and ironclad commitments from our employer.
We also passed counterproposals on the following topics:
As always, the full text of these and all other proposals can be viewed in the bargaining tracker.
In our counters this week, we made efforts to address Einstein’s concerns where we could in order to reach an agreement, but we were crystal clear: over 80% of us just called on Einstein to commit to vital protections that many of our colleagues around the city have already won, and we will keep fighting to ensure that demand is met.
Our next in-person session is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15, 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 and see the process firsthand! Your presence matters — observers make a real difference at the table.
As always, we encourage you to reach out with any questions, concerns, or feedback by simply replying to this email.
In Solidarity,
Antonio Hernandez, Pathology
ERU-UAW Bargaining Committee