Roughly 35 University community members joined a Tuesday noon rally in front of Stephen Robert 鈥�62 Campus Center organized by the Brown Postdoc Labor Organization to celebrate the group鈥檚 unionization plans.
A Friday BPLO press release also stated that organizers are 鈥渟eeking wage increases, support for international postdocs, expanded benefits for postdocs who are parents or becoming parents and more equitable provisions for all.鈥�
During the rally, BPLO organizers distributed shirts that read 鈥淚 love my research but love doesn鈥檛 pay the bills鈥� and 鈥淢y union has my back.鈥� Attendees also carried signs reading 鈥淯nderpaid and overworked,鈥� 鈥淗igher wages now,鈥� 鈥淏rown鈥檚 word is worth nothing鈥� and 鈥淒ivided we beg, united we bargain.鈥�
Demonstrators also displayed a cardboard coffin labeled 鈥淎dmin Promises鈥� and distributed buckets, hand clappers and other noise-makers.
鈥淗ow can (Brown) justify their commitment to research when they can鈥檛 even commit to paying their researchers a living wage?鈥� asked postdoctoral research associate Caroline Keroack. 鈥淲e deserve to be treated with respect and valued for our work.鈥�
BPLO鈥檚 demands follow successful wage increases for unions on campus. This August, TALO ratified an interim contract with the University, increasing its base rate to $20 per hour for CS student employees. In 2022, GLO signed a contract with the University raising the yearly stipend to both students in the humanities and social sciences and students in the sciences. LOCC will enter negotiations for its first contract with the University in spring 2024.
Currently, the minimum salary for Brown postdocs with their level of experience. The compensation meets the federally mandated National Institutes of Health , starting at $56,484 for researchers with less than one year of relevant postdoctoral experience.
According to Brown鈥檚 , 鈥淒epartments and PIs are welcome to pay postdocs above the NIH pay scale in consultation with their dean's office.鈥�
On their website, BPLO organizers point to negotiated by similar organizations at Columbia, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Columbia鈥檚 postdoctoral researchers are a minimum annual salary of $70,000 and postdoctoral researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will a minimum compensation of $66,950 starting in 2024.
鈥淏rown, and academia in general, can鈥檛 just rely on postdoctoral and graduate workers being passionate about what we do and think that that鈥檚 compensation enough,鈥� said BPLO organizer and postdoctoral research fellow Sarah Neville at the rally.
鈥淚f (they) want to keep us here in the field, working for the good of the human race and not getting pushed into for-profit industries 鈥� they need to value our labor and compensate us fairly,鈥� she added.
As of Tuesday, the University has not 鈥渞eceived any formal notice from organizers expressing an intent to unionize,鈥� wrote University Spokesperson Brian Clark in an email to The Herald.
鈥淥ur understanding is that should the process move forward, organizers would formally present a petition and/or union authorization cards,鈥� Clark wrote. 鈥淚f that happens, the University would review any materials presented, determine the best next steps and respond directly to the organizers.鈥�
鈥淩eceiving unpredictably low salaries that do not match the skyrocketing cost of living in Providence negatively affects our personal and professional lives,鈥� said speaker Parand Sorkhdini, a postdoctoral research associate.
鈥淭hese anxieties get worse with all the bureaucratic hurdles for international workers,鈥� she added, sharing her experience as an immigrant navigating visas and work authorizations. They 鈥渉ave an impact on our mental health and lead to delay in starting a family or simply just having a decent work-life balance.鈥�
According to postdoctoral researcher Flora Boushacourt, workers with children face heightened financial difficulties due to inflation and rising daycare expenses. At the rally, Boushacourt called on Brown to increase compensation of postdoctoral researchers and 鈥減rovide adequate subsidized child care.鈥�
The University currently has a for postdoctoral fellows and medical students.
鈥溾�嬧�婭t's so important to remember that unions are not just for us workers,鈥� Neville said. 鈥淯nions have political power 鈥� We can get stuff done by standing together. Providence is a union town. Brown is a union town.鈥�
In its press release, BPLO noted intentions to affiliate with the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals/American Federation of Teachers Local 6516, joining the Graduate Labor Organization, the Teaching Assistant Labor Organization and the Labor Organization of Community Coordinators. Representatives from TALO and GLO also attended the rally.
Swetabh Changkakoti 鈥�24, The Herald鈥檚 outgoing director of technology, spoke at the rally as a TALO representative. Changkakoti said that he hopes that unions on campus can 鈥渒eep each other safe and advocate for each others鈥� rights.鈥�
Nearing the end of the rally, Neville urged the crowd to sign union cards and attend BPLO meetings. She led demonstrators in chant, shouting 鈥淲hat do we want? Contract. When do we want it? Now.鈥� BPLO plans to ask for recognition and submit their union authorization cards to the National Labor Relations Board within the next few weeks, Neville said.
In an interview with The Herald, GLO Political Director Michael Ziegler GS said having additional labor organizations on campus increases the bargaining power of labor unions as a whole. If BPLO is successful in negotiating a contract, GLO will 鈥渉opefully be able to look into (BPLO鈥檚) contract and find parts of it that actually will be helpful for us and our future negotiation,鈥� Ziegler said.
Neville shared, in an interview with The Herald, that she was pleased by the turnout at Tuesday鈥檚 rally and hopes that it will help increase BPLO鈥檚 visibility on campus. BLPO 鈥渨ants the administration to know that we鈥檙e here, we鈥檙e strong and we鈥檙e united,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e are just the tip of the iceberg,鈥� Neville said to the crowd. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to change academia as we know it by getting strong rights for all workers in academia.鈥�
Julianna Chang is a University News Editor who oversees the academics and advising and student government beats. A sophomore from the Bay Area, Julianna is studying Biology and Political Science on the pre-medical track. When she's not in class or in the office, she can be found eating some type of noodle soup and devouring bad books.
Tom Li is a Metro Editor covering the Health & Environment and Development & Infrastructure beats. He is from Pleasanton, California, and is concentrating in Economics and International & Public Affairs. He is an avid RIPTA passenger and enjoys taking (and criticizing) personality tests in his free time.
