WE ARE ACADEMIC WORKERS OF NEVADA-UAW (AWN-UAW)
Nevada Postdocs are forming a union
Click below to support by signing a union card.
Academic Workers of Nevada-UAW (AWN-UAW) are Graduate Assistants (GAs) and Postdoctoral Scholars (Postdocs) at UNR, UNLV, and the Desert Research Institute working together to form a union to improve our work conditions. We make critical contributions to teaching and research at NSHE, but we lack secure rights and protections in the workplace as well as secure contracts. In addition, many of us struggle to afford housing, childcare and other basic expenses.
By joining together to form a union, we will gain more rights and a more powerful voice in the institution and in policymaking at the local, state, and federal level. We look forward to joining over 125,000 other unionized academic workers who have negotiated legally-binding contracts that make institutions of higher education more equitable and sustainable.
“We need a union to ensure fair compensation, transparent policies, job security, and a stronger voice in institutional decisions. Postdocs drive research, mentor students, and contribute significantly to the university’s success. We deserve clear protections and equitable treatment. A union is not about conflict, it’s about fairness, stability, and building a stronger research community together.”
“Postdocs need a union because it is the only way for us to ensure that our voices are heard and our needs met, long-term, regardless of turnover in administration or changes in relationships. We ALL deserve job security, support, and pay that reflects our contributions. We may each only be in our current positions for a few years, but I believe we should try to leave our institutions better than we found them and improve things for those who come after us. We are stronger together.”
“A union would fundamentally change my experience as an international postdoc at UNR by giving all of us a collective, protected voice to negotiate for fair wages that reflect the cost of living, and institutional support for visa and immigration processes. I want to have a workplace where postdocs have clear career development pathways, mental health support, protection from exploitation, and equitable treatment regardless of national origin — not because a PI or department chooses to offer these things, but because they are contractually guaranteed. A union would make that possible.”