Click here to observe our next bargaining session on March 3rd!
Last Wednesday, we had another bargaining session with the Sinai administration. As we all know, attacks on higher education this past year have made securing a union contract even more urgent. Because of this urgency, we have been willing to use the Sinai postdoc contract as a guide in areas where our work is similar, even though, as senior researchers, we have greater experience and have often already spent years as a postdoc. We were open to this approach because we know Sinai is able to agree to these basic protections, having already done so with the postdocs.
However, Sinai’s recent proposals would lower standards for all unionized researchers at Sinai – Instructors, Scientists, and Postdocs. While this is disappointing, it also makes clear how important it is that we continue to advance protections for researchers. With that in mind, we presented a range of new proposals that would provide critical workplace protections and union rights, explaining the reasoning behind each of them. You can view the full set of proposals
that were put forward during our session using our online tracker, or read a summary below.
Sinai’s bargaining team informed us that they will require time to review the articles and develop counterproposals. We reemphasised the urgency of moving bargaining forward and followed up on a previous suggestion that we try meeting in smaller groups to alleviate scheduling concerns, and Sinai indicated they would be open to this approach.
Our next bargaining session is scheduled for March 3rd. Please RSVP here if you would like to attend the session as an observer.
Summary of proposals we presented at our last bargaining session:
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Prohibition Against Discrimination and Harassment: would extend Sinai’s existing policies to protect against all forms of discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment and abusive conduct, establish supportive measures, and provide recourse in cases where these issues arise.
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Health and Safety: would ensure that Senior Researchers can address health concerns and maintain safe working environments.
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Discipline and Dismissal: would create a fair process for progressive discipline in the case of Sinai contemplating disciplinary action against a Senior Researcher.
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Grievance and Arbitration: would create a process in which provisions in the contract can be enforced. This article would allow Senior Researchers to take a grievance to a neutral third party if we are unable to reach a satisfactory resolution with Sinai.
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Successorship: would ensure our contract remains in place if Sinai’s ownership changes.
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Union Access and Rights: would provide our union with the necessary information and access to ensure that members of the bargaining unit are effectively represented.
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Union Security: would ensure that all Senior Researchers contribute equally to the cost of representation
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Intellectual Property: would give Senior Researchers more rights related to authorship and what happens with the research that we produce.
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Employment Records: would guarantee access to our employment records and ensure their accuracy.
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Travel: would ensure that work-related travel expenses are paid in advance or by Sinai directly, and that travel insurance is provided.
As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions or thoughts,
Shams Rashid
Instructor, Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII)
ROCS-UAW Bargaining Committee