USC’s union of postdoctoral scholars alleged the University was deliberately slowing down the bargaining process in “an attempt to demobilize workers” after the pace of bargaining has slowed roughly a year into negotiations, but USC said it has been negotiating fairly.

The union, USC Researchers and Fellows United – United Auto Workers, formed in June 2024 but has yet to negotiate its first contract with the University.

Seventeen of 32 articles listed on URFU-UAW’s bargaining tracker have been tentatively agreed upon but major points of contention, including compensation and childcare, have yet to receive agreements.

At a July 30 bargaining session, USC brought forth one proposal on an unresolved item and also presented two minor articles dealing with the contract’s language. While the union brought none, it criticized the University’s recent proposals in an Instagram post, calling them a waste of time and a stalling measure. 

Of the articles listed on the bargaining tracker, 13 are awaiting a USC response while the remaining two need a response from URFU-UAW. The union brought four proposals to the table at an Aug. 13 bargaining session.

“For them to be, frankly, wasting their own time and wasting our time coming up with this housekeeping language at a time when there’s still so many substantive issues on the table was really surprising,” said David Helps, a member of URFU-UAW’s bargaining committee and a postdoctoral scholar at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “[Postdocs] are, across the board, pretty frustrated.” 

In a statement to the Daily Trojan, the University wrote that it has been “fully engaged” in the contract negotiations and noted the 17 tentative agreements as a testament to their efforts.

“We will continue to negotiate in good faith,” the statement read.

Wages, childcare are priorities for union

Helps said wages for postdoctoral scholars and a childcare stipend are two major priorities for the bargaining team moving forward.

URFU-UAW’s initial wage proposal had the minimum annual salary at $82,500, with more experienced scholars making at least $92,000, as well as a one-time payment of $8,000 to all postdocs. The University countered with a minimum at just over $68,000, and the union’s second proposal didn’t budge significantly on its demands.

Helps said USC’s proposal was uncompetitive, comparing it to salaries at other universities including UCLA and Stanford, where he said postdocs are getting paid significantly more.

While UCLA’s minimum annual salary, roughly $69,000, is similar to USC’s proposal, Helps said UCLA offers wage increases after each year as a postdoc that allow them to make significantly more than USC scholars. After five years as a postdoc at UCLA, the minimum annual salary is north of $82,000.

While USC’s proposal said it could give salaries above the $68,000 minimum, it did not have a set raise based on service time like UCLA.

Stanford’s minimum annual salary for postdocs starts much higher at roughly $76,000 but doesn’t increase as significantly with service time.

The University proposed allowing postdocs to use on-site childcare centers rather than a childcare stipend, which the union countered with language similar to its original draft: $5,000 per child under six years old. 

Union planning second rally of August

URFU-UAW is planning a rally at Tommy Trojan on Aug. 21 called “Postdocs Demand: Harassment-Free USC.” The rally will begin at 8 a.m., shortly before the New Student Convocation at the nearby Alumni Park at 8:30 a.m.

The rally will focus on USC and the union’s differing proposals for reporting discrimination and harassment. URFU-UAW’s initial proposal outlined specific guidelines for specifics like bathroom equity — the assurance of convenient access to gender-neutral bathrooms — and lactation support, with accommodations for pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, as well as a specific list of prohibited conduct. 

USC’s counter proposal encouraged reporting to the Office of Civil Rights Compliance — formerly known as the Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX — or to federal agencies and did not provide as many specifics.

“Instead of addressing our need, USC claimed we do not need protections because we are more likely to be accused of harassment than be victims of it,” the Instagram post announcing the rally read. “New Trojans and their families deserve the right to know about USC’s position on enforceable protections from harassment and discrimination.”

USC did not state that postdoctoral students were more likely to be accused of harassment than victims of it in the counter proposal. 

The rally would be the second for the union in August. An Aug. 5 rally at Keith Administrative Building on the Health Sciences Campus ended with union representatives leaving a note for Keck School of Medicine of USC Dean Carolyn Meltzer demanding action on some of the undecided items, the union said on Instagram.

Helps said both the union and USC would prefer to come to an agreement at the negotiating table and pointed to the multiple bargaining sessions scheduled for August as an opportunity to do so. 

However, Helps said actions including rallies and petitions will continue to be on the table moving forward if an agreement is not reached. The union announced its rally at convocation before the first bargaining session of the month on Aug. 13.

“It doesn’t seem like they respond to anything except putting a spotlight on this and applying pressure,” Helps said. “Postdocs will continue to do whatever it takes to make it clear how important these issues are to all of us.”