As we communicated earlier this month, the CORE-UAW postdoc bargaining committee has been in negotiations with the UMass Chan administration over the postdoctoral layoffs occurring at UMass.
Last Thursday, our bargaining committee reached an agreement with the administration on layoff terms that secures a guaranteed 90-day notice period for all layoffs, introduces the option to reduce positions to part-time instead of a layoff where funding is available, guarantees that the postdoc position is restored if funding is secured, and establishes procedures to facilitate transfers between labs. The full details of the agreement can be viewed on our bargaining proposal tracker. While we cannot reverse these layoffs, the provisions that we have secured offer more flexibility to postdocs and accountability from the administration to provide support in this uncertain funding landscape.
If you would like to get involved with upcoming contract negotiations or have questions regarding the layoff agreement, please reach out to us at info@umasschanresearchersunion.org.
In solidarity,
Dan Bollen, Postdoc, Department of Medicine, Pukkila-Worley Lab
Ivano Mocavini, Postdoc, Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, Rando Lab
Karthika Nagalekshmi, Postdoc, Program in Molecular Medicine, Luban Lab
Courtney Price, Postdoc, Systems Biology, Shank Lab
Brittany Rosener, Postdoc, Systems Biology, Mitchell Lab
CORE-UAW Postdoc Bargaining Committee