To: The Caltech Community
From: Thomas F. Rosenbaum, President; David A. Tirrell, Provost
Date: January 4, 2024
Re: Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Union Elections Scheduled
We write to announce that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has scheduled the elections for eligible graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at Caltech to vote on whether they wish to be represented by Caltech Graduate Researchers and Postdocs United (CGPU), affiliated with the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW). We urge all eligible graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to express their views and vote in this important determinant of their and the Institute's future.
Although the original petition from CGPU-UAW lumped graduate students and postdoctoral scholars together into one collective bargaining unit, Caltech has argued successfully that the needs of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are sufficiently different that they demand individual attention and should be considered separately. As such, Caltech has reached an agreement with the CGPU-UAW and the NLRB that separates the graduate student bargaining unit from the postdoctoral scholar bargaining unit and ensures that both graduate students and postdoctoral scholars have the opportunity to participate in their own government-supervised secret ballot election.
Each election will be held primarily in-person, but graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who hold appointments off-site will have the ability to cast their ballot by mail for each election. It is important to note that while the elections to determine graduate student and postdoctoral scholar representation are occurring at the same time, they are independent elections, and each group will have the opportunity to independently decide whether to seek union representation. A majority of eligible voters who vote in each election will determine the result.
In-person voting for both elections will be held in Ramo Auditorium lobby on January 31, 2024, and February 1, 2024. Polls will be open from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. For graduate students and postdoctoral scholars eligible to vote by mail, the NLRB will be mailing ballots to such graduate students and postdoctoral scholars on January 24, 2024. To the extent that you believe you are eligible to vote by mail but do not receive a mail-in ballot by Wednesday, January 31, 2024, please contact the NLRB's Region 21 office at (213) 894-5254. All mail ballots must be received by the NLRB by Wednesday, February 7, 2024, in order to be counted in the election.
Results of the election are expected once the votes in each election are tallied by the NLRB on February 7, 2024.
As an Institute, we believe strongly that each graduate student and postdoctoral scholar should have a voice in how their interests in various areas—such as wages, benefits, and working conditions—are represented. We encourage all eligible graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to learn about the collective bargaining process, to understand how this might differ from current processes and systems in place, and to consider what it would mean for them to be in a union. Given that the outcome of each election will be determined by a majority of those who vote in the election, rather than a majority of all eligible voters, we strongly encourage all eligible graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to vote in the election.
To help ensure that all members of the community have access to information and resources on unionization, we have published a website and FAQs, and will continue to update the site with new information as available.