Bargaining Session: December 11, 2019

On December 11, 2019, representatives of the University attended the twenty-second bargaining session with the union committee that represents Postdocs and ARSs.

The Union presented a revised proposal on Health and Safety, combining the provision calling for a joint health and safety committee with the provision permitting grievances to be initiated at the final pre-arbitration stage.

The parties continued to discuss the Union’s proposal on Intellectual Property, authorship conventions in academia, and the University’s current policies and practices related to the eligibility of postdocs and ARSs to be PIs on extramural funding applications and to receive an inventor’s share allocation. The union bargaining committee agreed to present a revised proposal.

The parties also continued to discuss the Union’s proposal on Non-Discrimination. The University suggested that a working group that would include representatives of the bargaining unit could be established within a set timeframe of an agreement to make recommendations regarding how to address power-based harassment complaints. The University further explained that it would give serious consideration to recommended changes to the University’s non-discrimination and harassment policies and codes of conduct but that any revisions would be made at a University-wide level rather than bargained for as part of only this Union contract.

The union bargaining committee asked for an update on the University’s position regarding its leave proposal. The University acknowledged that leave is a significant issue for the bargaining unit but again noted that changes to leave had to be considered in the overall context of the Union’s other economic proposals, which are very broad and are still being assessed.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for December 19, 2019.