Some guy named 'James' just stopped by at our office and asked for me and the one other postdoc we have here, by name. they must have obtained a list from somewhere i guess.
Anyway, i asked for time to think about it and for more information and was directed to this website: www.prouaw.org
I haven't signed because i really don't know what the story is.
Carissa

I also had a weird encounter with theses union reps. The first time, they came two: one person I knew by face, since she works in a lab I have visited on campus, and then this guy, that I cannot remember if he introduced himself or not. They came into the lab, while I was working, and I really did not have time to talk with them. They asked specifically for me, by name, and wanted me to sign this card. They talked loosely about what it was, only because I asked a lot of questions, and since I did not have time to talk (I was working!) they said they would come back. He came back maybe a week or so later, again wanting me to sign the card. I asked more questions, asked for more information, he reffered me to a web-site (forgot it by now). But what made me make up my mind was that when I asked to get the card and think about it, and he would not give it to me; it was like I was hardly alowed to look at the card, only sign it. Anyway, I felt unsure what the whole thing was about and didn't feel like I had enough information to make the decision, so I didn't sign, and he never came back after that. I got the impression that they tried to get my signature by surprise attack, but it didin't quite work...

We had two visits from an union representative in February or March. He had a not very up to date list of the postdocs. I don't recal his name and I am not sure he gave it to me. He refused to give me any information about the union, their goals and plans except for a web page (http://www.prouaw.org/) that has almost no info. The rep insisted on not leaving the card to me to look at and sign it later and said that there is no mailing address to which the cards can be mailed. This all looked a bit fishy to me, so a told him that I will think about it. A week later he showed again and I refused to sign the card. At that time I already knew that they are part of UAW and that it will cost us to have them on campus no matter if we are union members or not. The whole thing is ridiculous and I am surprised that there are people who signed these cards.

I had a union rep call me on our lab manager's phone. I think that is the phone number that is listed in the UCLA directory but isn't actually my contact #. She was actually quite respectful. She starting asking me if I would be interested in the union and when I told her that I was at work and this wasn't a good time, I think she apologized and said goodbye. No one contacted me again (surprisingly). I didn't really have a chance to ask any questions as I was tying up someone else's phone.

Inform UC about your encounter with UAW!
Please send a short letter today!! to your UC office of labor/employee relations, describing what time of the day, where and with which arguments UAW representatives were asking you to sign a card. or what your encounter with PRO/UAW was like.
your University needs to know NOW, that is before thursday! ans it needs to be with your signature on Paper, otherwise it just stays as "rumors" in the net
thanks

Please write your story!
It takes only 5 minutes but can save you $500!
We just found out this is LAST and ONLY chance to present your case to PERB, the board deciding on whether the current drive to unionize is legal. Even if you already sent a letter to RESCIND your signature, we still need YOUR STORY.
Please write a letter WHEN you were approached by UAW representatives and whether you signed and ANYTHING you remember: who you talked to, what they said, their explanation of the card, any promises they made, the time of day, etc. Also state whether you would still sign the card now that you know the full meaning of the card.

We do need that letter by tomorrow (Wednesday, August 2) afternoon at 1 p.m. You can email your story to concernedpostdocs [at] gmail [dot] com and/or badams [at] diabetes [dot] ucsf [dot] edu and/or mmoye [at] hansonbridgett [dot] com or
fax attn: M. Moye 415-541-9366.

One or two paragraphs are all we need.

Address the letter to PERB and date it and give your name. We need as many of these as possible to present the case that people were misinformed. If this is successful, we will save the %1.15 percent of your gross income the union dues will.

QUESTIONS: Email concernedpostdocs [at] gmail [dot] com or badams [at] diabetes [dot] ucsf [dot] edu
It takes only 5 minutes!

Hi All,

After reading the above comments I'm a bit surprised because I had a different experience with the organizers when they came to visit me. It was clear that they got my info from the administrative staff in my deptartment and I don't really see anything wrong in that since after all what they're supposed to do is to contact the postdocs, right? I signed the card based on the info they gave me: that the card authorizes the union, on my behalf, to be my representative for collective bargaining. In general I found the organizers willing to answer my questions and able to do so in a clear way.

I was a T.A. as a grad student here at ucla and was unionized under the T.A. union. My experience was good then, so I'm not opposed to the union per se (disclaimer). I've been fortunate enough to have fair supervisors while at UCLA (regarding pay: there are pay scales also, right? so there's still room for personal negotiation between the supervisor and the postdoc...) but I imagine that other people may not be so lucky; in such situations to have a collective agreement protecting the weakest part might be benefitial.

Cheers!

Heads up to all post docs. The UAW is out again for signatures!!!!!
"A lost battle is a battle one thinks one has lost. " Jean-Paul Sartre

I received a notice yesterday that the UAW has once again filed a petition to represent postdocs in the UC system and have received over 50% consent. I know that neither I nor the other post-docs in my lab consented to this. Is this really something that the post-docs in the UC system want? Their efforts failed about 2 years ago... and now it looks like it may succeed. Is anybody else concerned about this?