Postdoc Union FAQ

Forming a union with collective bargaining rights gives us the power to negotiate on equal footing with the University administration and secure our terms and conditions of employment in a legally binding contract. Forming a union and joining with tens of thousands of other UAW academic workers will also help us have a stronger voice on key policy decisions made outside the University that affect us as researchers, such as federal funding for scientific research and federal rules affecting visa and immigrant issues.  

By joining with unionized academic workers nationwide, we hope to make changes that will create more positive work environments for future postdoctoral scholars and improve career pathways for future scientists in the US and beyond.

Collective bargaining is a process in which employees and their employer negotiate a legally-binding contract as equals. Typically, both parties will have a legal obligation to negotiate in good faith under a fair and enforceable process. After forming a union and achieving union recognition, we begin that process of collective bargaining to reach a legally-binding contract with the University.

Collective bargaining is a democratic process with several steps:

1. We vote to elect a bargaining team of fellow Postdocs.
2. Through our participation in town halls, surveys, and discussions, the bargaining team drafts a set of initial bargaining demands.
3. We choose whether to adopt those demands through a vote of all Postdocs.
4. The bargaining team negotiates with university administration and comes to a tentative contract agreement.
5. Before that agreement can go into effect, all Postdocs have a chance to review and vote on whether or not to ratify it. If we vote to ratify the tentative agreement, then it becomes a legally enforceable contract.

Without collective bargaining, the administration has unilateral control over our working conditions. For example, the administration currently decides on their own whether to provide livable wages, how much we pay for parking and healthcare, and how reports of harassment or bullying are handled.

Once a majority of Postdocs sign cards to form our union, we will ask the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) administration to recognize our democratic decision to unionize and begin collective bargaining. We hope that the administration will do the right thing, but if they don’t agree to collectively bargain with Postdocs, we will work with our Graduate Assistant colleagues to pass a bill in the Nevada legislature requiring the University to do so. Throughout this process, Postdocs will continue to gather more information on the priorities of our coworkers to inform future collective bargaining and make improvements. 

Here is a summary of the key steps towards forming our union and winning our first union contract:

• Nevada Postdocs form a diverse organizing committee to gather information and make a plan to form a union.
• A majority of all Postdocs sign authorization cards indicating we would like to form our union, Academic Workers of Nevada-UAW.
• Postdocs request that the University recognizes our democratic choice to form a union and agrees to a fair and enforceable process for collective bargaining. If the university refuses to recognize our democratic choice to form a union, Postdocs can pass collective bargaining legislation requiring NSHE to recognize and bargain with our union. 
• Postdocs achieve recognition and certification of our union, and begin bargaining as equals with the university administration!
• Postdocs elect a bargaining committee of fellow Postdocs.
• Postdocs fill out comprehensive bargaining surveys, hold discussions, request information from University administration, and gather feedback to draft their initial bargaining priorities.
• Initial bargaining demands are sent to all Postdocs for review, and Postdocs vote on whether or not to approve them.
• The bargaining committee negotiates as equals with the university administration and provides regular updates to all Postdocs. Postdocs engage in collective action about our demands.
• Once a tentative agreement is reached at the bargaining table, all Postdocs vote on whether or not to ratify the agreement.

Nevada Postdocs began discussing the idea of forming a union around the time that Graduate Assistants launched their union campaign in 2024. Many postdocs helped support our Nevada Graduate Assistant coworkers as 1,500 of them signed cards to form their union. Coming out of this effort, a group of Nevada Postdocs began to meet and talk about what it could look like to form a union of Nevada Postdocs, and decided to launch a climate survey. All Postdocs across Nevada were then invited to a Postdoctoral Scholars Town Hall, where we discussed the preliminary results of the climate survey and next steps with moving forward with signing authorization cards to form our union. At the town hall we also heard from a Postdoc at the University of California about what they have achieved through unionization and were able to ask questions. While we are forming our own union of Nevada postdocs, we decided to work with Graduate Assistants as part of a joint organization, Academic Workers of Nevada-UAW. 

Nevada Graduate Assistants and Postdocs decided to organize with UAW because it represents more than 125,000 academic workers across the United States, including more postdocs and graduate student employees than any other union. In the last eight years alone over 50,000 academic workers around the country have chosen to become part of the UAW.

Read more here about UAW success helping academic workers negotiate concrete improvements to wages, benefits and workplace rights.

The UAW has particular experience with helping to negotiate and enforce strong postdoc contracts. For example, postdocs and associate researchers at Columbia University in NYC voted by 68% to form their union with the UAW and ratified their first contract by 99% with a majority participating. UConn postdocs overwhelmingly approved their first contract in 2020.  Postdocs at the University of Washington voted by an overwhelming 89% percent to form their union with the UAW. The 7,000 postdocs at the ten University of California campuses approved their first UAW contract in 2010, and those at the University of Massachusetts approved their first contract in 2012. 

With active members at more than 45 major campuses across the US, the UAW has become a strong advocate on policy issues that matter to us as academics, such as federal support for science funding and enhancing the rights of international scientists.

Both a strong union and our existing postdoc organizations can play a critical role in improving the lives of Nevada postdocs. The Postdoctoral Association of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNRPA) for example provides important opportunities for postdocs to participate in numerous social and career development opportunities, as well as advocacy efforts. 

But while the UNRPA and other organizations can make recommendations to the institution on behalf of postdocs, they cannot bargain as equals with the University administration for a collectively bargaining agreement covering Nevada postdocs. Furthermore, improvements to postdoc experience advocated for by postdoc associations are not ultimately protected by a legally enforceable contract, meaning they can be altered unilaterally by the university at any time. Unions and postdoc associations often work together to improve the postdoc experience at academic institutions where both exist, but they serve distinct functions.

Nevada Postdocs make up our union and will democratically prioritize which improvements to pursue in contract negotiations. With a union, postdocs will negotiate as equals with the administration for the changes we want to make.

A contract will legally secure those improvements against unilateral changes by the administration. Currently, the administration can change policies and benefits unilaterally, without any obligation to consult those affected.

With a union, we will vote on our contract. If we are unsatisfied with a contract, we can vote against it and go back to the negotiating table to work out a better agreement.

Postdoctoral researchers have negotiated improvements to their salaries, benefits, family-friendly policies, and workspace and materials; have established fair processes for addressing sexual and other forms of discrimination and harassment; and have negotiated greater job stability and protections for international scholars. 

Read more about what postdocs and researchers have won at other universities:

• University of California Postdocs (UAW Local 4811)
• University of California Academic Researchers (UAW Local 4811)
• University of Washington Postdocs (UAW Local 4121)
• University of Connecticut Postdocs (UAW Local 6950)
• Columbia University Postdoctoral Researchers (UAW Local 4100)
• University of Massachusetts Postdocs (UAW Local 2322)
• Mt. Sinai Postdoctoral Researchers (SPOC-UAW)
• Caltech Grad Student Workers & Postdocs United (UAW Local 2478)
• Weill Cornell Medicine Postdocs United-UAW 
• NIH Fellows United (UAW Local 2750)

GAs will not pay dues until after negotiating and voting to ratify our first contract. Once a contract is ratified, each individual GA can decide whether or not to become a dues-paying member. Dues provide the resources to enable effective collective bargaining, enforcement of rights, and every aspect of having a strong union. UAW membership dues are 1.44% of gross income and are typically paid via payroll deduction. Dues are set democratically every four years by elected delegates from UAW local unions across the country who attend the UAW Constitutional Convention. The next Constitutional Convention is June 2026, and delegates could vote to amend the Constitution to change the dues rate or leave it the same.

It’s possible that our dues rate could be lower if Nevada Postdocs decide to waive our right to accessing the UAW strike fund (Nevada academic workers are working to pass a bill in the state legislature which would enshrine our collective bargaining rights and provide greater clarity around what collective actions we can take and whether we have access to Nevada’s Government Employee-Management Relations Board (EMRB) to resolve bargaining disputes). If the UAW Strike and Defense Fund balance hits $850 million, this could also trigger a dues reduction under the UAW Constitution. See Article 16 of the UAW Constitution for more information. 

It takes resources to have a strong union, from the earliest stages of forming a union for the first time, to bargaining and campaigning for the first contract, to enforcing rights under an existing contract, and advocating on policy issues that matter to the union membership.  Dues provide those resources. See below for more information.  

Dues generally cover all of the day to day costs to have a strong union, including paying for legal representation, staffing, rent, equipment, and supplies.  

Most of the day-to-day work enforcing the contract and representing our membership is provided by the Local Union. Under the UAW Constitution, the Local Union automatically keeps 27% of dues money to support its expenses: staffing for representation, rent, equipment, supplies, etc. The rest of the dues is allocated to the International Union’s General Fund (26%), Strike and Defense Fund (44%), and Community Action Program (CAP) (3%). Nevada postdocs would be supported by these funds as described below. Depending on the overall financial health of the Strike and Defense Fund (if its net worth is $500M or greater), an additional allocation of dues called a “rebate” is given back to the Local and International Union.  So, in typical months, the portion of dues retained by the local union is roughly 37%.  See the response above to “Will I have to pay dues?” for more info on how the strike fund portion of dues applies in Nevada.

For some great examples of UAW local union officers helping their coworkers defend their rights, see this summary of successful grievance handling at the University of Washington, or these stories about unionized postdocs fighting pregnancy discrimination at the University of California, or how graduate assistants at UConn took on sexual harassment.

The portion of dues allocated to the International Union would support Nevada postdocs in the following ways:

• Technical experts to help negotiate on equal terms with University admin, including:
• Health insurance experts who can take on the University’s consultants in order to pursue the best benefits for the best price;
• Researchers who can help analyze institute finances;
• Legal advice where necessary; and
• Experienced negotiators to help the Postdoc bargaining team achieve our goals, both at the bargaining table and in terms of developing an overall campaign to win a strong contract.
• Support for new organizing campaigns (for example, the resources supporting  Academic Workers of Nevada-UAW come from existing UAW members’ dues).
• Political action: 3 percent of dues go toward the UAW Community Action Program (CAP), which supports pro-labor community and political action, including legislative and other policy advocacy on issues that matter to UAW members. For example, the UAW advocates strongly for fair, comprehensive immigration reform and expanded federal support for research funding, among other topics. [NOTE: legally, dues money cannot be used for federal campaign contributions, such as the presidential race—that money comes from members’ voluntary contributions to the UAW Voluntary Community Action Program or V-CAP, which is separate from, and in addition to, dues.]

Academic Workers of Nevada-UAW (AWN-UAW) is the union of anyone who holds a Postdoctoral Scholar, Postdoctoral Researcher, Postdoctoral Fellow, or Postdoctoral Scholar Instructor position at UNR, UNLV, or DRI. If you are a Postdoc at one of these institutions and have questions about your eligibility or want to sign up, please contact .

With roughly 125,000 academic workers, the UAW has become a powerful organization advocating to improve conditions for international scholars and students. For years, the UAW has fought hard to improve the status and working conditions of non-citizen workers. 

For example, the UAW fought to enhance the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program as an important path for international student workers to work in the US after completion of their PhD. More recently, the UAW-affiliated academic worker unions helped lead the fight against Executive Orders issued by former President Trump that targeted international scholars and students. In 2017, the UAW International filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case challenging the Trump administration’s travel ban. In July 2020, thanks to direct action by UAW academic workers across the country alongside university and government allies, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) backed down from its directive to deport international students taking online classes due to COVID-19. In October 2020, UAW academic workers mobilized against a proposed rule by ICE to shorten visa stays for international scholars. Thousands of public comments were submitted, including by the President of the UAW International. 

UAW Local Unions also provide important resources for researchers on visas. For example, Columbia University postdocs used their union to fight for international researchers to be able to work remotely when they could not return to the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. They put pressure on the Columbia administration and engaged allies in Congress to support researchers stranded abroad.

International postdocs have the same legal right to join a union as US citizens. International scholars have been instrumental in organizing and running the University of California postdocs union (UAW Local 4811) and the Columbia Postdoctoral Workers (CPW-UAW Local 4100) Unionization can result in protections that are especially valuable for international academic employees.

We have not seen this happen at other institutions. Because all union decisions will be made by postdocs, we will collectively decide what to ask for in bargaining at our institutions and, ultimately, vote whether to approve any agreement as a contract.

And as a union we will have greater access to the University’s financial information that affects postdocs, which will make it possible for us to be well-informed and conscientious as we engage in bargaining. Both the postdocs and the administration have to agree on a contract and we all share an interest in preserving the quality of research happening at UNLV, UNR, and DRI. Collective bargaining simply means we can negotiate on equal footing in order to hold the University more accountable to do the best it can do.

As an example of how this plays out, in the first contract for postdocs at the University of California, the union negotiated significant pay increases, and the union and the university agreed to a phase-in process so that PIs with differing levels of resources would have the ability to accommodate the improvements without disrupting current research. Before collective bargaining, the University decided such things unilaterally, and some postdocs made as little as $18,000 per year even though UC had a “policy” stipulating that the minimum postdoc salary should have been significantly more.

Through unionization, postdocs have had a more unified voice to fight against the Trump administration’s cuts to federal research funding and preserve Postdoc and other research jobs. Through rallies, days of action, science fairs, town halls with elected officials, and lobbying efforts, UAW members have successfully beat back the worst of Trump’s proposed cuts at the federal level. And UAW members are getting creative at the state and local levels, too, to protect scientific researchers. In California and Washington State UAW is leading state ballot initiatives to fund scientific research to make up for the federal cuts.

Once a union is formed and recognized, the University cannot unilaterally alter any terms and conditions of employment—including pay and benefits. Instead, changes to pay and benefits and other terms and conditions of employment are subject to collective bargaining, through which university administrators must negotiate in good faith with postdocs, and postdocs will democratically approve a binding, enforceable contract containing those terms and conditions.

No UAW union for academic workers has negotiated a contract that requires all covered employees to make the same amount. And because we as researchers will make our own decisions about our contract we would likely not negotiate for or vote to approve a contract that requires all postdocs to be paid the same. 

As an example, we could propose a wage structure like the one that postdocs at the University of California bargained that includes:

1) A minimum salary that exceeds the NIH base wage;

2) Guaranteed annual wage increases;

3) The right of PIs to pay above the scale; and

4) Strong enforcement provisions that enable us to grieve through the union if we don’t receive contractual pay increases.

Postdoctoral researchers will democratically decide how we want to negotiate pay, but no UAW academic worker contract stipulates that all workers must be paid the same. Instead, UAW academic contracts have established minimum rights on different aspects of researcher working conditions, while preserving the ability of PIs and researchers to negotiate above those minimums.  At both the University of Washington and the University of California, for example, postdoctoral researchers negotiated pay scales that guarantee minimum salaries but stipulate that the institution may pay more.

Currently, the University administration determines postdoc pay rates and benefits unilaterally, and those rates – as well as projected increases – can be factored into grant proposals to agencies like the NIH. With collective bargaining, we would negotiate as equals with the University over improvements to our pay rates, which would continue to be factored into grant proposals. Postdocs at Columbia University and the University of Washington, as well as at the University of California, have used this process to negotiate guaranteed annual increases to their pay rates through collective bargaining while expanding postdoc positions.

As a union, postdocs will be negotiating with the University, not with our PIs and supervisors, because it is the University’s policies that define our employment conditions. Moreover, postdocs will set the bargaining agenda and decide what improvements to prioritize in collective bargaining.

As such, a union contract would only create limitations if postdocs democratically choose to bargain them. And forming a union would mean that the university administration would not be able to make unilateral changes to working conditions that postdocs choose to negotiate in our contract.

In addition, many PIs appreciate working with unionized researchers, because a union contract means PIs do not have to negotiate every term and condition of employment (from wages to health care to leave to childcare to non-discrimination protections to vacation to appointment letter terms, etc) and instead can focus on their research.

Yes! We are part of a broader movement to make all research workplaces better. If you are leaving soon, you can still support the effort while you are here by signing an authorization card and talking to your current and incoming colleagues about forming a union.

The transitory nature of our jobs as postdocs contributes to a system that justifies inadequate pay, benefits, and protections and makes us vulnerable to replacement. In many ways, this makes forming a union even more essential to establishing a fair workplace for researchers at UNR, UNLV, and DRI! 

Establishing a union means that postdocs will have a representative organization through which to enforce a binding contract, ensuring that we create continuity in our rights through a formal contract and lasting institution of postdocs enforcing our contract. Furthermore, our union will be part of the broader researcher labor movement at major research institutions across the United States–every research workplace that organizes makes science careers better for all of us.

With a union, all union decisions – including the decision about whether or not to strike – are made by the workers in the union. 

With that said, state employees in Nevada are prohibited from striking. And while the use of a strike is a powerful tool for many workers, it is far from the only form of collective action that workers can take. Many unions, including unions of graduate workers and other academic workers, can and do win significant improvements without choosing to go on strike and/or without a protected right to strike (for example, Graduate Assistants at the University of Maine just negotiated a first union contract with major gains without striking). We will have at our disposal many forms of collective action, legislative support, and other ways to elevate our demands and win the workplace improvements that Nevada Postdocs need.