July 22, 2025
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
Research assistants and postdoctoral scholars at the University of Pennsylvania voted to unionize recently. Workers, who claim the college had enacted anti-union campaigns, are seeking higher pay and more job security.
Research assistants and postdoctoral scholars at the University of Pennsylvania, seeking higher pay and more job security, voted to unionize last week.
After employees alleged the school had enacted anti-union campaigns, 703 of the 741 voters affirmatively cast their ballot during the two-day voting period. The National Labor Relations Board is expected to certify the results later this week.
"We are thrilled with tonight's results, and ready to work with the university towards a more democratic workplace," Emily Perkins, postdoctoral fellow in psychology at the university, said in a statement. "We love our jobs, but the increasing threats to international scholars couple with inadequate compensation made a union the obvious choice. We're ready to speak in one voice for fair pay, better job security and a more equitable university."
Research Associates and Postdocs United at Penn would join the United Auto Workers labor union, which represents over 120,000 academic workers across the country, including 4,000 graduate workers at Penn who voted to unionize last year.
Will Drayer, a postdoctoral researcher in materials science and engineering at Penn and a forefront member of the campaign to unionize, said the next steps include democratically electing a bargaining committee and surveying members to establish clear priorities before entering contract negotiations with the university.
"During our campaign process, common issues we've heard from our colleagues include higher salaries, longer initial appointments, visa fee reimbursements, better parental benefits and policies, and retirement benefits – to name a few," Drayer said. "This is a historic election. ... This strong mandate demonstrates that postdocs and research associates are serious about negotiating the improvements, protections and security that we deserve as highly skilled researchers."
When announcing the election's results on Instagram, RAPUP wrote that it had faced numerous challenges, including "anti-union propaganda" from the university.
Drayer said after the group initially petitioned to unionize in April, the university testified to the National Labor Relations Board that the "temporary" nature of the nearly 1,500 employees made them unfit to unionize, a claim which the board denied in late June. He also said the school's administration began sending emails and texts that directed workers to a third-party website that encouraged them to vote against unionizing.
A labor union representing the university's professors released a statement July 7 opposing the messaging members had received from the university
"As faculty, we know that postdocs and research associates play essential roles in advancing the research and teaching mission of the university," the statement said. "The (union) has written to the Penn administration calling on them to end the anti-union campaign against RAPUP; take down the anti-union website, and pledge to respect the results of the election."
A representative with the university stated that they are aware of the preliminary results of the election and are awaiting certification from the NLRB.
