Dear Members,

Our union is going to start bargaining with the University on Tuesday, March 17th, our first step in getting a fair first contract! Come to hear how it went at our Monthly General Members Meeting on Thursday, March 19th! At the meeting, we'll also be accepting nominations for a few open positions (one Bargaining Committee position; two Sergeant-at-Arms positions -- see descriptions of the roles here). See below for recent GMM recaps, other NUPU updates, and ways to get in touch and get involved! 

GMM Recaps

Did you miss a GMM meeting and want to know what was discussed at the last meeting? Our newsletters will include a summary of the previous GMM meeting(s). If you would like to hear more about what was discussed at the GMMs beyond the brief summary below, please contact us at nupostdocunion@gmail.com.

January 15th GMM Summary

• We voted to adopt 1151 as our UE local number: 1151 represents our UE region (11) and honoring international workers’ day (May 1st, or 5/1)

• Reviewed the effects of the Northwestern-Trump Deal on Postdocs and RAs (a summary of NUPU’s response to the agreement can be found here)

• Discussed the reasons we need a contract. Be sure to check out our website for further explanations on why we need a contract. 

• Presented and discussed our initial Non-Economic Bargaining Platform, which was further refined following member input at townhalls

February 12th GMM Summary 

• Discussed Northwestern’s Strategies to reduce our union power and delay bargaining proceedings. Learn to recognize their strategies. 

• Reviewed and voted to ratify our finalized Bargaining Platform as a membership 

Upcoming GMM: Thursday, March 19th at 12pm, RSVP HERE (Location details are included in the RSVP link)

• We will discuss our FIRST bargaining report after our BC meets with NU administration on Tuesday, as well as accept nominations for a few open positions. See descriptions of the roles here!

Contract Bargaining Updates

We are excited to announce that bargaining for our contract will begin on March 17th. Our Bargaining Commitee (BC) will be sending updates after every session in order to keep all members informed. This is a critical moment for our union!

Join us for our first Bargaining Update at our General Members Meeting (GMM) this Thursday at 12pm (details and RSVP here) . We'll discuss what we proposed, as well as any proposals or counterproposals the University introduced - as well as our plan moving forward to make progress towards an agreement that works for all postdocs and research associates.

Winning a union shop is essential to protecting our rights, strengthening our collective voice, and ensuring fairness in our workplace. We encourage all members to get involved in the local union, stay engaged, and make your voice heard throughout the process! Your participation and awareness make a real difference! Together, we can secure a stronger future for everyone in our bargaining unit.

2026 Bargaining Timeline

• January 15th: Presented the Bargaining Platform Proposal at GMM to membership based on member input from non-economic survey.

• January to February 3rd: Town halls were held for members to ask questions, make suggestions, and provide other input regarding bargaining priorities.

• January 9th:  BC delivered intent to bargain with the University. 

• February 12th: BC presented updated Bargaining Platform, members voted to ratify, and Platform was approved.

• Weeks of February 16th to 27th: Due to the lack of response from the University to provide availability to start bargaining, a Call to Action was prepared to deliver letters to Department Chairs to urge the University to answer our request for bargaining! 

• March 17th: BC will meet with the University to start the Bargaining Process. We will be presenting all of our initial non-economic proposals to the University and attempting to establish a regular bargaining schedule to make timely progress on our negotiations. 

• Future: Keep an eye out for updates from the BC and a bargaining tracker where you can see everything we’ve proposed to the University and their responses. We are also preparing our Economic Bargaining Survey to get input on issues like wages, health/childcare benefits, visa fees, retirement, and more!

Healthcare Updates

Given our upcoming negotiations with the University and to be best prepared to assist members facing challenges with healthcare, we are conducting a survey to learn more about how the transition to UnitedHealthCare (UHC) is affecting your coverage and your ability to receive care. This will allow us to be better prepared to negotiate improvements regarding healthcare in our future contracts based on our members’ experience with the current plan. If you or your dependents have used your insurance since the New Year, please fill out the following Anonymous Survey to let us know about your experience and whether you encountered any issues or have any concerns.

Still haven’t used your insurance, or not sure if your care team is in-network? Please check-out the helpful resources prepared by our Healthcare Team.

Have any concerns or would like to gain more information? Please direct emails to the HealthCare Team at nupostdocunion@gmail.com for assistance or to be provided with resources and individuals to contact for information.

Having an issue at work?

Are you having trouble at work? With a union, you have rights!

As a union-represented worker, you have Weingarten Rights - which is the right to have a union representative present to assist you during investigatory meetings with your supervisor/employer that could reasonably lead to discipline or changes in your working conditions. Importantly, it is your responsibility as a worker to request representation under the law - which you can do by reading the phrase shown on this Weingarten Card (printable) - print one out! Keep it with your ID card or with you at work, so you can be prepared.

There are a number of your fellow postdocs and research associates that have been trained as “interim stewards” to help you as union representatives in these meetings, as well as to assist you through other issues that come up at work with your PI or your colleagues. You don’t have to tackle these situations alone! Whether it be working through HR, Office of Civil Rights, Office of Research Integrity - your coworkers are here to help. Please don’t hesitate to reach out at  nupostdocunion@gmail.com for confidential assistance.

Dear Members,

This past year was our biggest one yet for NUPU! As we are heading into 2026, we want to share some important updates, achievements, and future events to keep an eye out for in the new year in the form of a Newsletter, our first of many!

Expect more of these in the future as our union grows and the bargaining process evolves. Here's to the New Year and have a wonderful holiday season!

Contract Bargaining Updates

This Year

• Non-Economic Bargaining Survey Launched

  • Valuable insight regarding the needs and priorities of our union

  • A full report of the results will be available in the new year - keep a lookout for this update!

• Drafting our initial demands from the University based on Survey results

Next Year 2026

• Economic Bargaining Survey 

• Initial Negotiations with Northwestern University

Bargaining Timeline

• January 15th: Presenting the Platform Proposal at GMM to members based on input from non-economic survey
  January to February 3rd: Townhalls will be held for members to come and ask questions, make suggestions, and provide other input regarding bargaining priorities. See Upcoming Events for specific dates.

• February 5th: BC will present the updated Bargaining Platform to members, and members will vote to ratify. If approved by membership, BC will deliver intent to bargain with University administration

Healthcare Updates

To find out if your provider is in-network with UHC, please follow these steps:

• For PPO coverage, you can contact your provider and ask if they are in-network for UHC’s Choice Plus network, or you can use UHC’s PPO Provider Finder. 

• For HMO coverage, you can contact your provider and ask if they are in-network for UHC’s HMO, Navigate Balanced HMO or Navigate Plus HMO networks, or you can use UHC’s HMO Provider Finder.

If your healthcare provider is not currently within the United Healthcare insurance network:

• We have drafted a template letter to ask your provider to consider accepting UHC (template letter ). To edit this template, make a copy in your personal google drive. This letter can help facilitate an open discussion with your provider about continuing your treatment with the same provider or finding alternative options if they are unable to accept UHC. If your provider asks for certain information that you are unable to answer, please reach out to the Healthcare team at NUPU (nupostdocunion@gmail.com ), and we will do our best to communicate with UHC or discuss resolutions.

• UHC has also provided an online form in which you can nominate your out-of-network provider to be included with UHC (a direct link for the form can be found here).

For those receiving ongoing care from a provider that is in-network with BCBSIL but will be out-of-network with UHC, transition of care allows new UHC members to temporarily continue seeing an out-of-network provider at in-network rates for certain medical conditions, while they transition to an in-network provider. Contact the UHC NU-dedicated 800 number 833-314-1787 for PPO and HSA plans and 855-828-7715 for the HMO plan or schedule a one-on-one meeting with a dedicated resource at UHC to discuss how your treatment will be covered and transition of care questions. You may also email northwestern@uhc.com your questions to UHC directly.

If you have enrolled in the new healthcare plan, you may have received a letter with a table showing different care options (e.g., primary care, urgent care, ER) for various conditions or ailments. The prices listed have understandably caused concern, but do not worry, the union is here with good news! These figures do NOT represent what you will pay. They reflect the median amounts charged by providers to UnitedHealthCare and are intended to illustrate which care options are most cost-effective for UnitedHealthCare. Your actual out-of-pocket costs can be found here.

Given our upcoming negotiations with the University administration, we are collecting information about any impacts the change in insurance has on our community, in order to we can be best prepared to negotiate improvements to our healthcare based on our members’ experience with the plan. If you would like to report an issue or concern regarding insurance/healthcare, please submit this Anonymous Survey.

Have any concerns or would like to gain more information? Please direct emails to Laia at nupostdocunion@gmail.com for assistance or to be provided with resources and/or individuals to contact for information.

Immigration Updates

In the past few months, there have been several changes or proposed changes to the US immigration system that may impact many of us as international postdocs & research associates, including changes to H1B policies (see our previous guidance) and proposed changes to the F and J visa system . In collaboration with our graduate worker union siblings (NUGW), we submitted a Request for Information (RFI) from OISS to clarify the University’s policies related to visa processing and preparedness for more potential changes. They have confirmed that the University is currently processing H1B change-of-status applications (i.e. J1 or F1-OPT to H1B), and we are working to get more clarity on the University’s plan to handle any changes to the F and J visa program.

For those who were not able to attend the ICE Preparedness/Travel Safety Training we hosted earlier this month, see [here] for resources shared during the training. Especially during the holidays, make sure you have implemented the Buddy System!

We recognize that the recent escalation of anti-immigrant actions is causing a lot of concern for international postdocs, research associates, and the community. Our union, in collaboration with others, has set up a hotline to quickly refer members facing an immigration emergency to legal resources. In the event that you are experiencing an unexpected change in immigration status or any other immigration-related emergency, please call the Union Higher Education Rapid Response Hotline at this number: 888-416-2110. Save this number to your contacts!

If you are in need of other legal support, please find a directory of UE-approved immigration legal resources for individuals, listed [here].

Have any concerns or would like to gain more information? Feel free to direct emails to Laurene at nupostdocunion@gmail.com for assistance or to be provided with resources and individuals to contact for information.

Community Outreach

• Collected Donations to help our Local Communities during the holidays

  • Thank you for your contributions and supporting our local communities, as a collective, we were able to collect $765, which will be evenly distributed to chosen food banks in Evanston and Chicago. According to the Northern Illinois Food Bank , every dollar donated buys approximately $8 of groceries (That's over $6,000 worth of groceries)! Thank you again for your donations to provide struggling families with a warm meal during the holidays. More information regarding our donations and the chosen food banks will be provided soon. If you have any questions regarding the donations or the chosen local food banks, please feel free to email Madeline at nupostdocunion@gmail.com.                                                                        

• Interested in being a part of the Community Outreach/Solidarity Team, or have an idea for an outreach activity? Please direct suggestions or inquiries toward Madeline at nupostdocunion@gmail.com.

Having an Issue at Work?

Are you having trouble at work? With a union, you have rights!

As a union-represented worker, you have Weingarten Rights - which is the right to have a union representative present to assist you during investigatory meetings with your supervisor/employer that could reasonably lead to discipline or changes in your working conditions. Importantly, it is your responsibility as a worker to request representation under the law - which you can do by reading the phrase shown on this Weingarten Card (printable) - print one out! Keep it with your ID card or with you at work, so you can be prepared.

There are a number of your fellow postdocs and research associates that have been trained as “interim stewards” to help you as union representatives in these meetings, as well as to assist you through other issues that come up at work with your PI or your colleagues. You don’t have to tackle these situations alone! Whether it be working through HR, Office of Civil Rights, Office of Research Integrity - your coworkers are here to help. Please don’t hesitate to reach out at nupostdocunion@gmail.com for confidential assistance.

If you are interested in being trained to serve as an interim steward, please reach out at nupostdocunion @gmail.com!

These trainings are held by our Training and Education CAT Team. Have a training idea or would like to suggest a program? Contact Ana at nupostdocunion@gmail.com