Why am I getting emails from another union?

We encourage all RPSPs to thoroughly read and review all information about unionization, including emails coming from UPTE, and discussing with a colleague who is familiar with our process of choosing a union. We have undertaken a lengthy review of UPTE and made a decision to affiliate with UAW (please see information below). You can contact someone on your campus by sending an email to rpsp.info@uc-uaw.org.

The RPSP organizing committee unanimously decided to organize with UAW, the largest union at UC.  Our report following a thorough review of UAW, UPTE, and forming an independent union can be found here.  Several key reasons helped with our decision:

First, we have been encouraged by UAW’s approach to worker-led democratic organizing.  This has led us to organize with all RPSPs statewide, over 7300 strong, so that we can determine our own agenda and bargain our own contract representative of our democratically chosen priorities.  Such an option is not available given UPTEs approach (see question below “Won’t forming a new union take longer than joining UPTE and automatically being included in their contract?”)  

Second, because we have seen the proven track record of strong UAW contracts. For example: 

• UAW Postdocs at UC won 20-23% salary increases (up to $12,000) in 2024 and 7.2% annual increases for the next 3 years. 
• UAW Postdocs also won 2% and 4% fixed increases on premiums and health benefits at about 10X lower costs than at peer universities.
• UAW Academic Researchers at UC won the same percentage of raises in just 4 years that they had seen in the previous 15 years with no union.

To be clear, we are not organizing to be incorporated into these other UAW units, but rather to form our own unit exclusively of RPSPs (see question below “Does it make sense for research staff to join UAW?”).  But these strong contracts have established standards that we can build on.

Third, because UAW has historically been one of the largest and most diverse unions in North America. By joining this movement, Research and Public Service Professionals will also gain political power to impact policy and funding decisions on the local, state, and federal levels. UAW has historically taken bold stands in response to federal, local and state policies that impact workers, and continues to take action and pressure electeds around the impact of the more recent federal funding decisions.

Certainly anyone should feel free to organize with whichever group they choose. We have chosen to organize with RPSP-UAW because we believe it is the most powerful and democratic choice. We don’t recommend signing cards for both UAW and UPTE because it would ultimately delay our ability to get certified so we can start bargaining (which given recent actions by the Trump administration has in our view become increasingly urgent).

There are limits to the number of workers that any union can “accrete” each year. For UPTE or any union to bring in all 7300 RPSPs across our job titles through accretion, it would likely take many years and we would have to be broken up into existing UPTE units.

Further, because a collectively bargained contract is a bilateral agreement, UC administration has to agree to give newly accreted workers the benefits and protections that UPTE workers have won. This means that newly accreted workers are not automatically or immediately guaranteed the same benefits and protections that UPTE workers have won before — there must be a negotiation first. It is possible for the administration to reject UPTE’s bargaining proposals for newly accreted workers.

Thousands of research professionals have already signed RPSP-UAW authorization cards and our movement is growing. We aim to be bargaining in the fall alongside other UAW workers like the SSAP unit after holding an election to confirm our decision.

UAW represents 53,000 project scientists, specialists, postdocs, grad workers, professional staff, and other classifications, making it the largest union at UC.

To be clear: we are not seeking to be included in existing UAW bargaining units at UC. We are joining with UAW as a separate bargaining unit so that RPSPs ourselves can decide democratically on what to prioritize at the bargaining table. UC Student Services and Advising Professionals recently did the same thing and will be bargaining their own contract soon.

Every step of the bargaining process will be driven by active participation by RPSPs, which will maximize our power to win a strong contract. and build on the gains made by workers in UAW, UPTE, and other higher education unions, as outlined here. 

If RPSPs were to be accreted into UPTE, we would not have the same say over our contract. By choosing to organize through a comprehensive representation petition with UAW, RPSPs are choosing to decide what we want to prioritize at the bargaining table and come up with the demands that meet our needs.