Research Foundation Field Units Contract Campaign

• Wednesday, January 8, 2025
• Wednesday, January 22, 2025
• Friday, January 31, 2025

Bargaining Update – December 6th

After bargaining for months with little movement from management on proposals that directly impact our livelihoods and well-being, we came back to the bargaining table last Friday, December 6, with the collective power of the petition signed by over 130 of you demanding that management agree to a fair contract. Current and former members of the Bargaining Team also shared testimonials about their experience at the Research Foundation, and why some have left altogether. 

We made it clear to management that we need more substantive counter proposals that recognize the work that we put into our projects every day. They continue to reject most of our proposals and state that they are just “not possible.” We reject this characterization entirely. 

As an example, we raised our concerns over notification of appointment renewals. Many of us work on short appointments and do not know until the last second whether or not we will be reappointed. We proposed commonsense changes that include notice no later than 60 days before the end of full-time appointments and 30 days before the end of part-time appointments. They claim they cannot even commit to two weeks’ notice. This is just one of the many critical demands they have rejected, including: salary minimums for each title; a freeze to our health insurance contributions; an expedited procedure for addressing discipline and terminations; longevity increases to recognize years of service; and, additional compensation for work on Saturday and Sunday.

Despite the numerous rejections, we saw a shift in the tone of this session. It was clear that our collective action and unity are having an impact. Management appeared shaken by the undeniable power of our solidarity, and finally, they seemed to engage more seriously with our demands. 

The fight is far from over. We will continue to push forward, and when we reconvene in the new year, we will be stronger than ever. We will be in touch then with new ways to show the RF our membership’s commitment to our demands. Your support is critical – together, we will ensure that management recognizes the value we bring and agrees to a contract that reflects that. 

Bargaining Update – September 23rd and October 1st, 2024

After having presented our demands on September 16, we met with the Research Foundation’s management for our third and fourth bargaining sessions on September 23 and October 1 to hear their responses to our proposals. Management’s responses were not encouraging, and it’s clear we need to work together to win the contract we need and deserve.

Here’s the overview:

Wages: Management responded only with an extension of the old contract: 2% raises each year (or 60 cents/hour for employees making less than $20/hour), and rejected out of hand our proposals to establish pay minimums and longevity increases.

Other Proposals: They by and large said “no” to most of our other proposals, including defined lengths of appointment, adequate notice of reappointment, improvements to annual leave carryover, comp and overtime pay for work on weekends and days off, freezing the employee health insurance contribution, and strengthening our formal protections through the grievance and disciplinary procedures.

When we asked why they would not agree to or even entertain these demands, management claimed that they have limited control over the campuses and projects to require implementation of such (common-sense) protections, despite the fact that they are our employer and we already have a contract that governs our terms and conditions of employment.

The Research Foundation claimed that they couldn’t possibly agree to our proposals on fair compensation for work on weekends or improvements to annual leave carryover because the RF’s board of directors would never agree to fund them – even though the RF’s own financial statements show that it could afford to do so.

All of this has made it clear that we need to fight together to win the contract we want and deserve. We need to show management that “no” on so many common-sense proposals is not acceptable. Please join us by filling out the form below to let us know that you’re willing to be part of the fight!

Bargaining Update – September 16, 2024

The union bargaining team met with management for our second bargaining session on Monday, September 16, at the RF Central Office and presented the union’s demands for the new contract. We made clear to management that these demands represent what members want, need, and deserve based on conversations, meetings, the survey that happened in the spring, and our lived experiences as Research Foundation employees. We told management that as RF workers, we are committed to our jobs and our mission. We invest a lot in the work that we do – whether we are full-time or part-time, whether we have been with RF for decades or only for a few months – and don’t feel that the RF always adequately invests in us. Our contract demands are about mutual commitment – the contract we deserve for the work that we do. Specifically, we proposed:

• 5% pay increases each year for 3 years.
• Longevity payments of $3000, $4500, or $6000 per year for employees with 10, 15, or 20 years of service, respectively.
• Pay minimums, based on title and ranging from $20 to $46 per hour in the first year, and increasing each year of the contract thereafter.
• Capping the dollar cost of the employee contribution for health insurance at current rates. (Under the current contract, employees contribute a percentage, which means the actual cost goes up every time the cost of the plan goes up.)
• Allowing for hourly employees, if they are directed to work a day that is not part of their regular schedule, to elect to either substitute for a regularly scheduled day or be paid the additional hours.
• Ten days’ notice for employees if the RF wants a change to their weekly schedule and clarifying that one-time changes to an employee’s work schedule or work week are voluntary.
• Require time-and-a-half overtime pay for FLSA non-exempt employees and comp time for FLSA exempt employees for work on weekends.
• Align the accrual of annual leave with the appointment year, rather than the calendar year, to coincide better with employees’ appointment periods.
• Leaving the decision to the employee whether to be paid out or to roll over unused annual leave (where grant funds are available and sponsor regulations permit).
• Making full-time appointments for at least one year and requiring notification of reappointment no later than 60 days from the end of the current appointment.
• Making part-time appointments for at least 3 months and requiring notification of reappointment no later than 30 days from the end of the current appointment.
• A right to a union orientation on paid time for all new hires within 30 days of starting their position.
• Changes to disciplinary procedures that make it easier and quicker for us to defend members from discipline and discharge.
• Changes to the Grievance procedure to keep it in line with most other union contracts.
• Expedited procedures for dealing with termination and health and safety concerns.

Management did not make any substantive responses to our demands, but did ask clarifying questions and expressed an openness to a number of the demands we presented. Nevertheless, we anticipate that we will need to organize and keep the pressure up as bargaining continues to win the raises and other changes we deserve! The more folks who get involved, the more power we have to get what we need. Fill out the form below to let us know you’re willing to be part of the fight! Our next bargaining session will be on Monday, September 23 where the RF will share their proposals. We will be sure to give you an update after that!

Bargaining Update – August 22, 2024

The RF Field Units Bargaining Team had our first bargaining session with the Research Foundation on August 22, 2024. We made introductions, discussed the flow of bargaining, and scheduled upcoming bargaining dates.

First impressions are important. We made it clear that we have worked for the Research Foundation for years, some of us for decades, and we wholly understand the importance of this round of negotiations. At our next session on September 16th, we will introduce our ambitious demands for a contract that reflects our professionalism and commitment to our work at the Research Foundation. The Research Foundation will also submit proposals for what they hope to see out of our next contract.