Breaking the Silence: The Unionization of Postdoctoral Workers at the University of California

Abstract

This article examines the postdoctoral unionization movement at the University of California (UC) using case study methodology. More specifically, we examine postdoctoral union organizers involved in the United Automobile Workers of America (UAW) Local 5810, focusing on their efforts to unionize postdoctoral employees at the UC. The study is situated within the broader context of neoliberal influences and the corporatization of the contemporary U.S. research university. The case of the UC postdoc union movement is seen as particularly important given that approximately 1/10th of all U.S. university postdoctoral workers are employed at the UC and the quest to meet UC’s postdoctoral research needs is increasingly global in nature. Accordingly, we rely on two primary sources of data: the collection and analysis of key documents and semistructured interviews with postdoctoral union organizers. The findings focus on three key issues: 1) conditions of workplace vulnerability; 2) challenges of organizing a postdoctoral union and negotiating a contract; and 3) outcomes of the unionization process.