BY RYAN HARROD, DOUGLAS COST, ANDREA DEWEES, AND CINDY TRUSSELL
Solidarity in collective bargaining for better wages and working conditions is the basis of any union activity. Pitting union members against each other is a common tactic employed by management in its union-busting strategy. It’s a tactic we are facing in Alaska.
In the current contract negotiations between United Academics AAUP/AFT Local 4996 and the University of Alaska, management has singled out the most precarious of our members, the postdoctoral fellows, to target with draconian takeaways in their proposals. UA proposed, in particular, that postdoctoral fellows be at-will employees, with no minimum contract length, limited to a maximum appointment of three years without the possibility of renewal and without rights to written workload agreements, eligibility for any raises or annual review during their appointment, or eligibility for professional development funding stipulated by the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
It’s clear that the university has targeted one group of our members for appalling treatment. Most of the postdoctoral fellows in the University of Alaska system are employed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Ironically, UAF is in the midst of an effort to achieve R1 research status by 2027. According to UAF Chancellor Dan White, “We’re not just chasing a designation; we’re striving to become a world-class research university that sustains UAF and Alaska!” Given this visible and expensive effort, the attack on post-doctoral fellows is either ill-conceived or aimed primarily at dividing our bargaining unit.
In the words of one of the affected postdoctoral fellows, “This would certainly emphasize the transient atmosphere postdocs are already immersed in, and disrupt feedback to the university on their productivity and contribution to research, teaching, and service, again potentially de-incentivizing postdoc retention and hindering the climb to R1 status.” Another states, “Preventing raises is petty, short-sighted cruelty from management; the inability to get a raise will be a strong negative for potential postdocs, which can make UAF a less attractive destination for top candidates. This does not seem to be the move a university trying to reach R1 status would make.” One postdoc pointed out that the three-year maximum on appointments seems to “exclude postdocs from vesting in the Optional Retirement Plan Tier III, potentially barring them from tens of thousands of dollars in retirement contributions.”
The response of United Academics has been to categorically reject the proposed changes and to refuse to allow groups of our bargaining unit to be singled out for exclusion from provisions or protections in our CBA. Our members are holding informational picketing and letter-writing campaigns to let the administration, the UA board of regents, and the public know that we stand together against these and other regressive contract proposals. We have launched a social media campaign using memes, member quotes, pictures, and videos to spread our message. Our negotiations are not complete, and we anticipate having to accelerate member action to achieve a fair and competitive contract for all of our bargaining unit.
Ryan Harrod, Douglas Cost, Andrea Dewees, and Cindy Trussell are the elected organizational vice presidents for United Academics AAUP/AFT Local 4996.
