As International Researchers at Mount Sinai, we are voting “yes” for our Union
By Yajing Xu, Neuroscience, Tiphaine Martin, Oncological Sciences, Nanditha Anandakrishnan, Nephrology, Piyush Kumar, Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Annika Hunziker, Microbiology, Lukas Bethlehem, Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Philipp Neukam, Psychiatry
As international researchers at Mount Sinai, we are voting “yes” for our union on Wednesday, June 22 and Thursday, June 23. Forming a union will enable us to collectively bargain with Mount Sinai, rather than the Sinai administration making unilateral decisions with or without our input. Addressing pervasive issues like limited access to housing, salaries that have not kept pace with the high cost of living in NYC, and precarious employment will enable us to better focus on our work and advance in our careers as scientists.
As visa holders, having the ability to bargain collectively is particularly important for addressing workplace issues. We routinely go through periods of time with a valid work authorization but no ability to re-enter the country if we travel, meaning we can live and work in the US but cannot leave to visit our families without risking a lengthy visa renewal process. Many of us have encountered challenges finding affordable housing in New York, arguably the most expensive city in the US. These financial hardships are often compounded by the costs of relocating to a new country — especially when bureaucratic delays prevent us from working and getting paid immediately when we first arrive in NYC. Although we bring significant value to the US economy through our research we face limitations in accessing grant funding, which are often important to individual success in our fields. Most importantly, since our visas are tied to our employment, our lives can be turned upside down whenever an appointment is unexpectedly or unfairly terminated. This precariousness affects every part of our lives at work, putting us at a disadvantage when trying to negotiate as individuals and making us more vulnerable to harassment and bullying.
While the Office of International Personnel is helpful in providing assistance, it cannot address all of these problems or meet all of the needs of international Postdocs. The process of entering the US is not always smooth and without expanded resources and support, international postdocs can face unnecessary delays when it comes to time-sensitive processes related to our visas and work authorization. With a union, we could negotiate for expanded support and put measurements in place to address the issues above.
Over 100,000 academic employees, including at Columbia University, University of California, and the University of Washington, have unionized with the United Auto Workers (UAW) and won significant workplace improvements. International Postdocs hold elected leadership positions, join bargaining teams, and help craft their union’s priorities. Beyond wage increases and better benefits, unionized Postdocs have won improvements like longer appointments (and therefore longer visas), guaranteed vacation time, visa fee waivers, protection from unfair termination and loss of positions if work authorization is delayed, and required advance notice if an appointment will not be renewed. International Postdocs have also built supportive communities through their unions and organized events like info-sessions with immigration attorneys to provide accurate information in the face of unpredictably changing visa policies.
Unionizing with the UAW has given tens of thousands of researchers, including international postdocs, a powerful national voice on issues that impact our working conditions and our lives. With so many researchers in the US being international, more sensible and fair immigration and visa policies will directly benefit science. Through the UAW, Postdocs and other academic workers have fought to extend and expand OPT and OPT STEM, pushed back against Trump’s travel bans by contributing to the legal challenges as well as by educating politicians about the impacts, and protested against discriminatory actions that particularly scapegoat Chinese scholars, and fought the “fixed duration of status” proposed rule. UAW is continuing to fight for progressive changes to visa and immigration policy, and now we have a chance to add our voice to this growing movement.
By voting “union yes” on June 22nd and 23rd, we will be choosing to join with 100,000 academic employees across the country in order to have greater power to negotiate with Mount Sinai for improvements to our workplace, while also gaining a stronger political voice nationally as visa-holders.
