Dear Provost John Jackson,
We, the undersigned Postdocs and Research Associates at the University of Pennsylvania, write to urge the university administration to reach a fair contract without further delay that includes increased appointment lengths and improved support for international researchers at Penn.
In July 2025, a majority of Postdocs and Research Associates at Penn voted in favor of forming our union, RAPUP-UAW, to secure critical protections and have a voice in our working conditions. Central to these protections is the need for increased appointment lengths and improved support for international researchers. Postdocs and Research Associates form the bedrock of our institution’s world-class research enterprise. However, the short-term nature of our appointments leaves many of us in precarious positions of employment that can detract from the innovative research we came to Penn to pursue.
This issue is particularly urgent for the international members of the Postdoc and Research Associate community, who must navigate a complex and expensive visa process at the beginning of each appointment. A 2023 report from an NIH working group co-chaired by Penn faculty states the difficulties of the status quo plainly: “The one-year contracts held by many postdoctoral scholars are disproportionately burdensome to international postdoctoral scholars, requiring them to engage in an annual cycle of renewing immigration paperwork which causes stress, financial strain, and job insecurity.”
Securing these improvements would provide much-needed stability and support for Postdocs and Research Associates and would benefit Penn’s research mission. We therefore urge the university administration to reach a fair contract without further delay that includes:
Given the urgency of these issues, we request a meeting at your convenience to discuss how we can work together to improve the security and support for domestic and international Postdocs and Research Associates alike through a collectively bargained contract.