On Wednesday, July 30, 2025, and Wednesday, August 13, 2025, we met with the Einstein administration for our 23rd and 24th bargaining sessions.
At these sessions, we had productive discussions in which we reinforced our demand for Einstein to improve the working conditions of postdocs at Einstein by meeting, and in some areas exceeding, the best standards set by fellow postdocs at other unionized institutions in New York City.
Some of the improvements we are currently fighting for include:
-
Workload: Protection from an unreasonable workload that is not aligned with the research needs of the project
-
Appointment Security: Appointments and Reappointments: Provide job security and extend the minimum initial appointment length
-
Discipline and Dismissal: Establish a transparent and enforceable process around discipline where postdocs are given the opportunity to improve before being terminated
-
Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation: Protection from discrimination, harassment, any abusive conduct, including bullying, and retaliation, as well as an enforceable process for resolution with immediate supportive measures for the affected postdoc
During our discussion of Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation, we were unfortunately made aware that Einstein had attempted to change 62 policies in effect at the time of our Union’s certification (May 24, 2024) without providing us with notice and the opportunity to bargain over the proposed changes, including removing policies and the rights postdocs have under them. This is a clear violation of Einstein’s legal obligation to maintain the status quo until we reach an agreement on our first contract. We therefore scheduled an additional bargaining session for Thursday, August 21, 2025, to start the process of bargaining over all of Einstein’s proposed changes to policies that apply to or otherwise impact postdocs — a process which has now begun and will be ongoing as we bargain our first contract.
Our next session will be on Zoom and is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, September 10, 2025, 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!
As always, we encourage you to reach out with any questions, concerns, or feedback by simply replying to this email.
In Solidarity,
Federica Zanotti, Stem Cell Institute
ERU-UAW Bargaining Committee