Unions Help Protect Postdocs

The postdoctoral unit in our union, UAW 4811, is 70% international. Scientists from around the globe come to the United States to gain educational skills and employment opportunities. Some of us arrive with no return date in sight, often building a life in this country—all while relying on nothing more than a temporary stamp in our passport allowing us to stay.

Unfortunately, our temporary status is frequently exploited by employers, as Stefano Cataldi highlights in “Postdocs Demand Better—Together” (Issues, Winter 2025). International workers are more likely to face overwork and abuse, and the precariousness of our visas can make it difficult to speak out or seek better working conditions. Studies have shown that international postdocs receive less pay, less mentoring, and have access to fewer collaborations, grants, and teaching opportunities.

Federal regulations also often impose severe financial constraints. Many of us are barred from off-campus work, and our spouses may also be prohibited from working. This restriction leaves us entirely dependent on our employer’s salary. We are also ineligible for many funding opportunities that could support our research and livelihoods.

On top of systemic and economic challenges, we face xenophobia, racism, travel bans, and the rescinding of protective legislation. We are expected to keep our heads down, be grateful, and quietly perform our work. This narrative ignores the reality that our diverse perspectives and contributions help make US institutions world-renowned and foster groundbreaking advancements.

When I started graduate school, these challenges left me feeling despondent. I was often told that international students should not get involved politically in the United States, further limiting my belief that I could improve my situation. The opportunity to organize a union as graduate student researchers gave me a voice—and proved life-changing. I learned that despite the systemic limitations, we can effect meaningful change through collective action.

In 2022, our then graduate student union, UAW 2865, and our postdoc and academic researcher union, UAW 5810, went on a six-week strike for fair contracts. We secured important protections for international workers, including guaranteed leave for immigration and visa processes, job security if paperwork is delayed, and a commitment from our employer to provide support if protective federal legislation is repealed. Postdocs also won longer appointments, translating into longer visas and more job security.

In 2017, when travel bans targeted predominantly Muslim countries, our union stood in solidarity with affected colleagues. We called legislators, organized protests, and mobilized within our workplaces to protect freedom of movement and jobs. When attacks on visas and other forms of employment authorization for international students occurred, we used our collective voice to defend these critical programs. While today’s challenges are amplified by broader attacks on public education and research, our solidarity remains our strength.

International postdocs make up the majority of postdoctoral scholars in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics both in our union and nationwide. As more institutions unionize, we are building a national movement that must be leveraged to continue fighting for justice and fairness for international, immigrant, and undocumented academic workers. We have the power to reshape the systemic barriers placed on us—and we intend to use it.

Ximena Anleu Gil

Stefano Cataldi highlights the workplace conditions underlying the national unionization movement among postdoctoral researchers and graduate assistants in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Those successful organizing efforts are responsive to the decades-old trend in academia that has steadily replaced tenured and tenure-track faculty positions with lower-wage contingent positions, which are frequently held by women and faculty of color.

It has long been recognized that those who are younger, without an expectation of tenure or a future in the academy, are most likely to support unionization. There has also been an accepted truism that those in the humanities and social sciences are most likely to support an organizing effort. Recent data and other evidence, including the postdoctoral scholars’ campaign at Columbia University, challenge that stereotype.

As documented in the 2024 Directory of Bargaining Agents and Contracts in Institutions of Higher Education, published by the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions, as of January 1, 2024, there were 11,471 postdoctoral scholars represented by unions at 10 institutions, including Columbia. Adding to the total, those figures exclude postdoctoral researchers who are represented in faculty bargaining units at other intuitions such as Oregon State University.

Data collected for calendar year 2024 by my CUNY research center show that unionization among postdoctoral scholars has continued to grow. Seven postdoctoral scholars bargaining units were newly certified, including one at the National Institutes of Health, representing a total of 7,668 researchers.

The data also show that union representation among graduate assistants grew by 133% since 2012, with some campaigns led by those working in STEM. In 2024, the number of represented graduate assistants grew by an additional 11,724, with new bargaining units at 15 institutions including the California Institute of Technology, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The process of collective bargaining provides postdoctoral scholars and graduate assistants with a voice in determining their working conditions. A negotiated contract ensures transparency, uniformity, and enforceability, which are largely lacking in nonunion higher education environments. The terms of negotiated agreements are the best evidence of the benefits of collective bargaining. Frequently, they include improved salary and childcare benefits and protections against discrimination, sexual harassment, unfair discipline, other forms of mistreatment, unsafe working conditions, and overwork. The provisions in the current postdoctoral scholar contract at Columbia serve as just one example of the enforceable benefits and protections that can be gained through collective bargaining. Still, contracts are never perfect because they are the results of compromises made at the bargaining table and can differ among institutions.

Unionization by STEM researchers has taken on a new urgency. Institutional responses to the unprecedented federal funding cuts in a unionized setting will have to be tailored to avoid violating the terms of the agreements, and the impact of the cuts will be subject to negotiations.

One thing is clear: The draconian research austerity being thrusted upon the nation will have enormous impact on scientific research and the nation’s well-being, as well as on the future size, shape, and working conditions of postdoctoral scholars and graduate assistants.

William A. Herbert

Stefano Cataldi provides a compelling overview of the role of postdoctoral researchers, the challenges they face, and how unionization and institutional support can help improve their working conditions. Addressing these issues is critical not only for the well-being of postdocs but also for ensuring that the United States remains the leading destination for top scientific talent.

Postdocs are highly trained researchers—fewer than 2% of the global population holds a PhD—who drive innovation and scientific progress. Their contributions have propelled society forward, from fundamental discoveries to groundbreaking applications. The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines is one recent powerful example of how essential science and innovation are to humanity’s survival, underscoring the need to support the scientists behind these breakthroughs. However, despite their critical role, postdocs often face significant challenges, including low wages, job insecurity, visa restrictions, workplace harassment, and inadequate housing and childcare support. These issues have contributed to what has become a growing postdoc shortage in the United States. If conditions do not improve, other global economies may attract postdocs away, shifting the balance of scientific leadership elsewhere.

Columbia University became, in 2018, the first US private university to establish a postdoc union. Through two rounds of negotiations—in 2018 and 2023—this effort has resulted in meaningful improvements, including increased minimum salaries, formal recognition for fellows, hardship funds, visa expense reimbursements, childcare support, and cost-of-living adjustments. While negotiations were challenging and required extensive dialogue, these contracts marked significant progress in recognizing and supporting postdocs. Columbia’s efforts set off a ripple effect, inspiring the creation of postdoc unions at research institutions such as the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and New York University is currently in the process. Universities themselves benefit from unionization, as it leads to increased research productivity, improved recruitment and retention, enhanced institutional reputation, reduced administrative burdens, and a healthier work environment—ultimately resulting in long-term cost savings.

However, much work remains. Urgent issues such as bullying, harassment, burnout, improved housing and visa support for international postdocs, childcare, intellectual property protections, and proper attribution of research contributions still need to be addressed. Strengthening these aspects will ensure that postdocs receive the recognition and rights they deserve, allowing them to focus on research without unnecessary burdens.

The academic pipeline depends on the well-being of postdocs, as they are the future principal investigators, industry leaders, and administrators. If they endure persistent struggles without systemic support, the next generation of leaders may be shaped by the same challenges, perpetuating an unsustainable cycle. Early intervention is necessary to address these issues, and unionization has emerged as a powerful tool to advocate for fair working conditions. In turn, this allows postdocs to drive scientific progress, keeping the United States at the forefront of global innovation and technological advancement. If the country hopes to maintain its status as a scientific superpower, investing in postdocs must be a priority.

Vikas Malik