USC’s union of postdoctoral scholars rejected the University’s “last, best, and final” offer by a 96% (229-10) margin, according to a post on the union’s Instagram on Saturday. The rejection vote, which had 64% turnout, comes after the union — United Researchers and Fellows United - United Auto Workers — alleged deliberate stalling by the University.
The parties are over a year into negotiations for the union’s first contract after their formation in June 2024. The union represents around 375 postdoctoral scholars, individuals who temporarily continue researching or teaching at a university in what is typically a transition between being a graduate student and a full-time university employee.
Before USC made the comprehensive offer on Sept. 10, the parties had come to agreements on 19 items through various bargaining sessions, according to the URFU-UAW’s bargaining tracker. The remaining 13 articles, which addressed issues like layoffs, childcare and compensation, were covered in the University’s proposal, which the union wrote “falls far short of a fair agreement” in Saturday’s Instagram post.
“USC’s position on some of the things that matter the most to postdocs and were the reason for postdocs voting to form a union in the first place has not budged,” said David Helps, a member of URFU-UAW’s bargaining team and postdoctoral scholar at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “USC is fully capable of reaching an agreement on all of these issues and has not shown a whole lot of urgency or desire to do that.”
The University wrote that it was “fully engaged” with union negotiations throughout the process and negotiated in “good faith” to reach the proposed contract in a statement to Annenberg Media. After the rejection vote, USC said it will speak with the union soon to determine next steps.
“The university proposed a fair economic offer aligned with the university’s current operational needs and situation,” the University statement read. “Unfortunately, union members voted to reject our contract offer, which means its fair terms are now not available to them.”
Helps said USC’s offer was “disappointing” because he felt there was still room for agreement on key issues, which he said is the opposite of what a “last, best, and final” agreement typically signals. The union requested USC pick a mediator to aid in the negotiation process in an Instagram post Saturday, which Helps said was effective in his negotiations as a graduate student at the University of Michigan.
One of the major issues still pressing is wages, according to Helps. URFU-UAW’s initial proposal requested a minimum average salary of $82,500, with more experienced employees earning at least $92,000, as well as a one-time payment of $8,000 to all postdocs. The University has not budged significantly on its $68,640 annual salary minimum currently in the “last, best, and final” offer.
The union previously rallied at New Student Convocation about harassment protection policies, which is another of the union’s major priorities, according to Helps. USC’s most recent proposal has all complaints going through the University’s Office of Civil Rights Compliance — formerly known as the Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX — while previous URFU-UAW proposals have had more defined regulations and used an independent arbitrator.
A union Instagram post promoting the rally in August said their proposal provided “accountability, a clear timeline, and a voice in supportive measures.”
“It seems especially insulting about USC’s offer that we shouldn’t have access to the same kinds of workplace protections as our grad student worker peers and our peers of postdocs at other universities,” Helps said.
The University stood by its policy in a statement to the Daily Trojan in August.
“Our existing compliance policies and processes, including those specifically addressing all forms of discrimination or harassment, are best in class,” the University wrote to the Daily Trojan. “Those policies are mandated by federal law, were developed in consultation with the country’s leading experts and work to protect all members of our community.”
When asked about next steps, Helps didn’t rule out actions like protests, strikes or pickets, saying postdocs are “willing to do what it’s going to take in order to actually get the University back to the table.”
“Postdocs are serious about resolving this,” Helps said. “Negotiations have gone on too long, and we’ve seen too little urgency from USC, and I think that is what this vote shows.”