Ratification Results: Joint Statement with Caltech Admin
This week, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars represented by Caltech Graduate Students and Postdocs United (CGPU-UAW) voted to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement, with 1042 voting to ratify, a 86% margin.
The comprehensive agreement reinforces CGPU-UAW and the Institute’s shared commitment to educate, train, and support the best and brightest scientists and engineers, and to ensure that the Institute environment supports all members of our community in advancing groundbreaking research and discoveries. Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are an integral component of the Institute’s integrated research and education mission, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and discovery while actively engaging with the broader community in Pasadena.
This collective bargaining agreement will take effect April 1, 2025, and remain in effect through July 14, 2027.
How did we get here this month?
As massive, unexpected wildfires erupted across LA County and our neighborhood, our organizing efforts had to focus on helping evacuees find temporary housing and access mutual aid. Countless conversations between colleagues in smoky offices and in nearby unsafe clean rooms indicated just how much the health and safety protections and financial security provided by a union contract are needed ASAP. Our collective action throughout the campaign won stronger Health and Safety guidelines, more equitable treatment of international scholars, and survivor-first protections against discrimination and harassment, among many other things. In turn and in good faith, the Caltech administration bargained seriously. Through deep collaboration that was at times contentious, both bargaining teams’ identified and proposed strategic compromises that balanced the long-term needs of our campus and the present moment. After intense bargaining sessions on January 15-16th, Postdocs and Graduate Student Workers reach an impressive, unifying Tentative Agreement on January 20th, 2025.
Read the Bargaining Team’s unanimous recommendation to vote Yes to ratify this Tentative Agreement that has been in the works for years and comes at a pivotal time where academic workers’ rights, regardless of visa status, will be under attack due to a Trump presidency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are union dues / agency fees? When would GSWs and Postdocs start paying dues / fees?
For a thorough explaination see this.
Under the Tentative Agreement, all Postdocs and GSWs covered by the union contract will pay a small portion of our paychecks to contribute financially to our union in the form of union dues (or agency fees, for non-members). Dues allow workers to pool our resources together and have a real say in our working conditions, with a strong union that can enforce all of our rights.
Union dues will power the core functions of our union, including GSWs’ and Postdocs’ ability to enforce the contract via arbitration. Dues will also fund training for elected stewards, who will help other GSWs and Postdocs enforce the contract. Beyond this, union dues will help us organize toward winning a second contract that builds on the first. GSWs and Postdocs will also democratically decide how to use union dues by voting on bylaws and voting to democratically elect our fellow researchers to the union’s executive board – only union members are able to vote in these.
Union members elect to pay union dues (1.44% of gross pay) in order to have a strong say in their workplace through organized money and organized people. Some opt out of membership and elect to instead pay an agency fee (1.17% of gross pay). Postdocs and GSWs would pay either dues or agency fees, not both.
Under the Tentative Agreement, dues / agency fees would not go into effect immediately. Dues will take effect at least 60 days after ratification.
To learn more about union dues, check out this Agency Shop explainer.
How would the Trump administration impact our rights and protections? What happens if the NLRB becomes unconstitutional?
When Trump was in office last:
- Title IX was significantly weakened
- Visa renewal processes became increasingly complex
- The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) systematically rolled back workers’ rights to form unions and engage in collective bargaining
Already in the first week in office, Trump has attacked DEI initiatives and transgender rights, raising concerns about the future of discrimination protections. He has also now paused all federal grants and halted all communications, travel, and hiring in the National Institue of Health.
Under Trump, it is incredibly important to establish a union contract to maintain our rights and ensure our wages and benefits continue. Once a union contract is in place, the Caltech administration cannot change minimum benefits without Postdoc and GSW say. Similarly, even if the SpaceX, Amazon, Trader Joe’s, Starbucks, and the USC administration win their cases against the NLRB, deeming it unconstitutional, the Caltech administration still has a legal obligation to uphold our contract.
This Tentative Agreement secures enforceable protections against discrimination, harassment, and abuse, with a grievance process independent of Title IX and, if necessary, third party mediation within 90 days–with interim measures guaranteed for survivors to continue research safely. It also enshrines robust provisions for international workers, including two year minimum initial appointments for PDs, up to 7 days paid time off for visa renewal, and clear rehiring protections for workers who fall out of visa status—all of which are industry-leading. Our unprecedented article on freedom of speech protects our right to engage in mass, collective action to enforce and even improve our contract. Should we ratify this Tentative Agreement, Postdocs and GSWs would have the strongest protections in academia against the Trump administration.
Can I refuse to contribute agency fees, which are mandatory for all bargaining unit members in this agreement?
For a thorough explaination see this.
The administration’s bargaining team and our bargaining team have jointly decided on an agency shop meaning that the union represents all employees regardless of union membership and requires agency fees from everyone to be strong and carry out its functions (eg. Pay arbitrators in disputes).
Refusing to contribute agency fees (1.17% of gross salary) is possible on the current ratification ballot by checking the “I elect not to pay agency fees” option. This means that you instead will are charged $1000 per year of your gross pay to be donated to the Caltech Y (which was the administration’s idea).
For Graduate Researcher and Postdoc minimum salaries, this charge for refusing to pay agency fees is 2.15% and 1.42%, respectively. This decision can be changed at a later date to instead pay agency fees or union membership dues. Only union members can participate in elections for union leadership and bylaws.
What improvements to wages and benefits would GSWs and Postdocs see under the Tentative Agreement?
This Tentative Agreement’s total financial package meets and at times surpasses peer institutions like MIT and UC Berkeley, and raises our standard of living:
- Nearly halves graduate student health insurance premium costs (saves $442 for an individual and $794 per dependent annually at the current rates)
- Maintains CCAP and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
- Establishes a $125,000 Postdoctoral Scholar Childcare Financial Hardship Fund, with a Caltech commitment to raise funds at least up to that dollar amount
- Up to $500 in visa fee reimbursements per international scholar
- GSW stipend increases to $48,244 in Fall 2025 and $50,000 in Fall 2026
- Postdoc base salary increases to $72,723 in Fall 2025 and $75,268 in Fall 2026, with an additional 2% raise for those above base pay
- All GSWs and Postdocs receive a ratification bonus of $800 in May after an April 1st contract start date
What improvements to workplace protections would GSWs and Postdocs see under the Tentative Agreement?
This Tentative Agreement makes major improvements to workplace protections, establishing many new protections and strengthening and expanding on existing ones. By fighting to build a
Caltech for everyone, GSWs and Postdocs have pushed the needle forward for other academic
workers across the U.S. who can now point to our contract’s support for international scholars
and protections against discrimination, harassment, and bullying. These protections are enforceable through the Grievance and Arbitration Process, a process that Postdocs and GSWs won in the contract that includes the right to appeal to an independent arbitrator when the contract is violated.
Here is a comparison of what GSWs and Postdocs currently have without a union contract, versus what we would have if we ratify this Tentative Agreement.
What happens if GSWs and Postdocs vote YES on the Tentative Agreement?
Voting yes, in favor of ratifying the contract, means voting in favor of adopting the Tentative Agreement as our first union contract.
If a majority of those voting vote yes, the agreement would go into effect on April 1st, after which Postdocs and GSWs would be covered by the protections and guaranteed the rights included in the contract, including protections for international scholars, improvements to workplace health and safety, and the major improvements to protections from harassment and discrimination.
The $800 lump sum payment would be distributed within 45 days of April 1st. The immigration legal fund would be established within 90 days of April 1st. The new childcare financial hardship fund and healthcare premium subsidy, as well as the wage increases, would go into effect beginning in Fall 2025.
The bargaining team has unanimously recommended a YES vote.
What happens if GSWs and Postdocs vote NO on the Tentative Agreement?
Voting no, against ratifying the contract, means voting to reject the Tentative Agreement (TA) and indefinitely delaying the ratification of a first union contract.
Because Postdocs and Graduate Student Workers would likely withdraw from previously agreed-upon Tentative Agreements and make additional demands, Caltech administration could, and likely would, do the same. Caltech admin could withdraw from any aspect of the agreement and refuse to agree to any and all language included in the current Tentative Agreement.
Bargaining this Tentative Agreement took nearly a full year after our union election last 1/31-2/1 and bargaining another contract could take just as long, shorter, or longer depending on Graduate Student Workers’ and Postdocs’ power. In the meantime, Postdocs and Graduate Student Workers would not be covered by a union contract. There is no guarantee that any new TA, if one could be reached, would be any better than the current TA. There is however a guarantee that a credible strike threat must still be organized to negotiate fairly–especially under the Trump presidency’s National Labor Relations Board.
When and where will the ratification vote take place?
The ratification vote will open on Tuesday, January 28th at 9am and close on Wednesday, January 29th at 9pm. After the close of the vote, tallies will be distributed to Postdocs and Graduate Student Workers by approximately 10am, Thursday January 30th.
Voting will take place online. If you haven’t unsubscribed from the email list, you will receive a link to vote in your email. The online ballot is also linked on this website.
Anti-spam laws prevent the union from sending emails to (or manually resubscribing) those who have unsubscribed. To resubscribe to the email list before Tuesday, January 28th, use this link. To ensure you’re resubscribed in time, resubscribe by 6pm on Monday, January 27th.
If you’re not able to resubscribe before the voting period, or don’t have access to your ballot for any reason, fill out this Google Form. To ensure you receive your ballot before the voting period closes, request your ballot by 3pm on Wednesday, January 29th.
What is the ratification vote?
The ratification vote will determine whether or not the Tentative Agreement reached on January 20th is ratified as Caltech Graduate Student Workers and Postdocs first-ever union contract. All Graduate Student Workers and Postdocs are eligible to participate in the ratification vote. A simple majority of those voting is needed to ratify the Tentative Agreement and allow it to take effect.
Your Title Goes Here
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
Your Title Goes Here
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.