It’s come to our attention that Princeton management may in some cases be delaying contract renewals, promotions, salary increases, travel reimbursements, and possibly other aspects of employment. It is unclear if these delays are coming from the central Princeton administration or from departmental administrators and/or faculty who are uninformed regarding how unionization affects current practices.
We want to clarify that now that postdocs have formed a union, the university cannot make unilateral alterations to our terms and conditions of employment. However, maintaining the status quo does not mean ceasing raises and promotions. For instance, if your lab or department has a standard practice of regular salary increases, promotions, or providing conference travel funding, these should continue as usual. Likewise, part of maintaining the status quo is having the ability to discuss and reach agreements with your PI on salary increases above minimum rates.
If you have encountered any unexpected changes or have concerns about your working conditions, please reach out by responding to this email. Your response will be kept confidential and a member of the organizing committee will reach out. It’s important that postdocs communicate with one another in order to ensure that Princeton administration is correctly upholding their obligation to maintain status quo working conditions.
Best,
PUPS-UAW Organizing Committee