We had our first in person bargaining session last Friday, November 21st
This past Friday, we held our second bargaining session with the Sinai administration. We are pleased to announce that by the end of the session, we had reached several Tentative Agreements for both the Instructors Unit and the Scientists Unit. Because the Sinai administration continues to insist on negotiating with each bargaining unit separately, we had two back-to-back sessions for an hour each — the first for Instructors, and the second for Scientists.
We reached Tentative Agreements (TAs) on the following articles: Recognition, Severability, and Union-Management Committee. We also proposed a fourth article — Training — which Sinai did not agree to, but informed us of their intention to counter at our third bargaining session on Monday, December 1, 2025, from 3 PM to 5 PM.
After significant delays in scheduling our second session, we believe our first in-person bargaining session on campus was productive and set a positive tone for future sessions.
In both sessions, we also attempted to confirm more sessions for the months of December and in the new year. Unfortunately, Sinai had not yet conferred with their full team on the dates we proposed earlier in the week, but said they would email us. We hope the Sinai administration agrees to meet for longer periods of time in upcoming sessions so we can keep up the momentum and reach agreements for our first union contract in a timely manner.
Summary of ROCS-UAW Proposals:
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Recognition (TA): codifies official recognition of ROCS-UAW
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Severability (TA): preserves the remainder of the contract if a provision is declared unlawful and rendered void; and ensures our right to bargain over replacement language and any impacts
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Union-Management Committee (TA): creates a joint committee with representatives from Sinai and the Union that meets regularly during the life of the contract to discuss matters related to our contract
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Training: ensures that senior researchers are paid for time spent at work-related trainings, orientations, workshops, scientific meetings, and courses, as well as for the costs associated with attending them
You can read the full text of these proposals at our online bargaining tracker, here. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or thoughts.
In solidarity,
Rajagowthamee Ravanapuram-Thangavel, Associate Scientist
Department of Microbiology
ROCS-UAW Bargaining Committee