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Postdoctoral researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, a private nonprofit institution in the Bronx, have unionized with a 152-to-32 vote.
Einstein Researchers United, the new union, said postdocs voted Wednesday and Thursday. It said it will represent about 230 workers.
The union is affiliated with the UAW. Brandon Mancilla, director of the UAW region that contains New York City, said in a news release that the postdocs “overcame intense opposition from the Einstein administration to win their union.”
Rohan Misra, a postdoc fellow in the college’s genetics department, said in the release that “despite the fact that postdocs drive the world-class research produced at Einstein, I’ve witnessed firsthand the lack of support many of us face in addressing our needs, especially during a cost-of-living crisis. Our international status compounds these challenges, making fair pay and adequate support crucial.”
The new union, Misra said, “will allow us to advocate strongly for long-overdue improvements to workplace rights, benefits and family-friendly policies, and create a supportive work environment where our contributions are truly valued.”
In an email, a college spokesperson wrote, “We respect our postdoctoral fellows’ right to join a union. Now that they have done so, we will enter the bargaining process in good faith.”
