"NIH fellows-who typically receive term-limited grants-"are not 'employees'" and are not "employed in an agency," read the email the NIH sent to leaders of the NIH Fellows United-UAW union earlier this week. "The NIH/UAW bargaining unit should never have been certified.""
"The union formed in early 2024, following a spate of labor organizing efforts at universities across the country. It represents about 5,000 fellows "at the postbaccalaureate, predoctoral, and postdoctoral career stages who do essential work for NIH's mission," according to its website."
"Union leaders called the NIH's move "part of a coordinated effort by the current administration to dismantle federal worker protections" in an email they sent to members. "Our contract is still in effect, and management's attempt to evade the contract is against the law.""
The National Institutes of Health has moved to decertify the NIH Fellows United-UAW union, arguing that fellows receiving term-limited grants do not qualify as employees under federal labor law. The union, formed in early 2024, represents approximately 5,000 early-career researchers at postbaccalaureate, predoctoral, and postdoctoral levels. The NIH plans to file a petition with the Federal Labor Relations Authority to formally decertify the union. Union leadership contends the action violates existing labor agreements and represents a coordinated effort to eliminate federal worker protections. The union emerged amid broader labor organizing efforts at academic institutions nationwide.
#union-decertification #federal-labor-relations #early-career-researchers #worker-protections #nih-labor-dispute
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