Updates! Stand Up For Science + UMass’ initial response to our union

Postdocs and grad workers gathered last Wednesday for our first union town hall!

Join us at the Stand Up For Science rally in Boston this Friday at 12pm!

As we continue talking with colleagues about strengthening our majority, we wanted to share four relevant updates on our campaign.

Last week we had a great time at our first union town hall! We all shared why we’re forming our union, discussed next steps, and answered questions about the unionization process. If you missed this one, don’t worry! We’ll be hosting more town halls in the future.

Many of us have watched with concern over recent weeks as the current Presidential administration attempts to freeze and cut federal research funding. Academic workers in the United Auto Workers (UAW) from across the country have been fighting back against these cuts, including calling our elected representatives, sending letters, sharing stories, and organizing a National Day of Action.

The UAW is a co-sponsor of the national Stand Up for Science actions taking place this Friday, March 7th – click here to join fellow UMass Chan researchers attending the rally in Boston!

Some of us attended an event with Rep. Jim McGovern to thank him for his recent advocacy around public research funding. One colleague mentioned our union campaign, and asked whether Rep. McGovern will support researchers if UMass Chan administration tries to interfere with our unionization efforts. Check out his response here! It was great to hear a clear message of support from our representative in Congress.

Earlier this week, the UMass Chan administration sent an email to postdocs and graduate workers claiming to inform us about the unionization process. The email implied that postdocs and graduate students may not be sufficiently aware of this process. We have been clear all along about the steps to form our union. These are the same steps that unionized researchers at other public sector universities have used successfully, including other UMass campuses, UConn, UMaine, and the University of California, before going on to negotiate significant improvements to working conditions. While we’re disappointed that the administration would cast doubt on our ability to make our own democratic choice here at UMass Chan, we appreciated that their email made clear that we have the legal right to unionize without fear of retaliation.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@umasschanresearchersunion.org and check out the FAQ page on our website.

Best,

Joshua Pajak
Postdoc, Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology Department

Zhané Adamson
Graduate Worker, Microbiology Department

Members of the CORE-UAW Organizing Committee

P.S. – To learn more about our campaign, check out our website at umasschanresearchersunion.org and follow us on Bluesky and Instagram.