We’re Voting Yes for a Stronger Caltech!

Election Information:

When: January 31 and February 1 from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Where: Ramo Auditorium Lobby

How: In person, except for eligible mail-voters assigned to work outside the LA area

Voting “yes” to form a union will allow us, as Caltech Postdocs and Graduate Researchers, to collectively bargain with the Caltech administration for the first time. With a union:

• The Caltech administration will have a legal obligation to negotiate with elected grads and postdocs over pay, benefits, and workplace protections
• Any agreements on improvements or maintaining current benefits will be part of an enforceable contract
• Every Postdoc and Grad will be able to participate in the bargaining process through surveys, town halls, bargaining updates, and more.
• Every Postdoc and Grad will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not to ratify any proposed contract before it goes into effect

Through thousands of conversations, Postdocs and Grads have expressed struggles with low wages, high healthcare costs, expensive childcare, and a lack of enforceable protections from harassment, discrimination, and abusive conduct. These challenges add to the stress experienced by graduate employees and postdocs, and exacerbate inequities in academic research.

Right now, the Caltech administration unilaterally decides if, when, and how to address challenges faced by Postdocs and Grads. With collective bargaining, we can meet at the bargaining table as equals. With strong participation and support from the entire Postdoc and Grad community, we can bargain union contracts that better meets our needs.

Joining UAW and Unions in Higher Education 

In 2022, after seeing the success of unionization efforts in the UC system, a group of Grads and Postdocs reached out to UAW for help forming a union here at Caltech. Being part of a larger union, along with over 100,000 other academic employees, provides Grads and Postdocs with the resources and expertise necessary to negotiate with major research universities. As part of UAW, Caltech Grads and Postdocs elect their own local union leadership and bargaining team and vote on their own union contract.

Over 100,000 academic employees across the US have already chosen to join UAW. This includes Postdocs in the UC system, at University of Washington, Columbia University, and Mt. Sinai as well as graduate employees at UC, Columbia, Harvard, UW, and many more. Recently, Research Scientists and Engineers at UW voted 85% in favor of unionizing with UAW, NIH Fellows voted 98% in favor of unionizing with UAW, and Cornell Medical School Postdocs voted 99% in favor of unionizing with UAW. Both Mt. Sinai Postdocs and USC grad employees just voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying their first union contracts (more on the Mt. Sinai agreement here and USC agreement here).  By uniting together, academic employees are driving up standards in higher education and building a powerful voice for grad workers, postdocs, research scientists, and non-tenure track faculty.