We, the undersigned ROCS-UAW supporters, urge Mount Sinai’s Administration to bargain intensively with our representatives and to reach an agreement without delays.
Senior researchers produce cutting-edge research that brings in roughly half a billion dollars in NIH grants to the institution every year, attracts talented researchers and students, and positions Mount Sinai as a national leader in biomedical research.
At a time when we face unprecedented attacks on higher education, including threatened cuts to federal science funding and more restrictive immigration policies, reaching a fair union contract is even more urgent. We would prefer to work together with the Mount Sinai administration to meet these challenges as part of an established local union, rather than spend significant time debating whether we deserve basic rights and protections.
By improving senior researchers' working and living conditions, we can also reduce stressors that make it harder to focus on doing quality research and strengthen our ability to attract critical funding for our work. A fair union contract would also provide greater stability and predictability during this period, and allow Sinai to remain competitive despite increasing difficulties with recruiting and retaining talented researchers throughout the U.S., particularly among international scholars who make up the majority of our workforce.
We are encouraged by how quickly Mount Sinai recognized our majority and expect contract negotiations to proceed in a similarly constructive and efficient manner. This entails, among other things, negotiating at the locations and times that minimize disruption to our work as researchers at Mount Sinai, and refraining from any attempt to reduce our rights below what has been agreed to with our postdoc colleagues in areas where our working conditions are similar.
We therefore urge Mount Sinai to make all efforts to avoid delays and unnecessary obstacles in reaching a fair and just contract that enables senior researchers to focus on the quality research which establishes Mount Sinai as a leading academic institution.