Postdoctoral researchers at the University of Michigan have initiated a campaign for union recognition, influenced by job threats following the election of Donald Trump in November 2024. The University of Michigan Postdoctoral Researchers Organization filed for recognition after acquiring supermajority support with over 900 signatures from the institution's 1,500 postdoctoral scholars in just six months. Funding cuts from the Trump administration have raised concerns about job stability, prompting researchers like Nikki Rodgers to advocate for collective bargaining as a means to ensure better job protection.
Nick Geiser, a theoretical statistician and union organizer at the university in Ann Arbor, says the move was prompted by US President Donald Trump's election win in November 2024: "It spurred many postdocs into action because our jobs are at stake."
A union could be a way to collectively come to the table and say we need to have more protection where we're not just relying on one faculty member to support our stay," she says.
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