Postdocs and staff researchers go on strike at the University of Washington
After months of negotiations, 2400 postdocs and staff researchers at the University of Washington went on strike today, arguing that the university's proposed contract terms don't amount to a fair wage.
The strike comes on the heels of a change in state law on 1 January, which mandated that overtime-exempt salaried employees at organizations with 51 or more employees be paid at least $65,484 annually-which is more than what many UW postdocs made previously.
UW President Ana Mari Cauce argued in a 31 March letter to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries that the minimum salary thresholds, which will increase annually and are set to exceed $80,000 by 2026, "Are not financially feasible" and that postdocs should be exempt based on rules for medical residents and fellows.
The university increased the pay of some postdocs and staff researchers at the start of the year to comply with the law.
"Most postdocs are paid from our grants, putting us in the strongest position to appreciate the pressure these high wage standards put on our research budgets. We are also best positioned to understand the ways in which making postdocs overtime eligible would negatively impact our work at UW.".
The letter writers argued that forcing postdocs to track their hours and ask for overtime pay could "Further exacerbate the power imbalance between postdocs and PIs, who may pressure postdocs to work overtime without reporting extra hours." They also argued that it would create an administrative burden and that it's often not practical for postdocs to track their hours.
"If everybody at the University of Washington is asking for a different arbitrary number, I think we're not going to be successful in getting anything beyond the for our postdocs," she says.
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