Next Monday, our elected Bargaining Committee will meet with the JHU administration and officials from JHU’s Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) to negotiate policies around OIE’s involvement in claims of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. From having thousands of conversations with postdocs over the past 3+ years, we know that while OIE has a role to play in investigating these serious claims, it is not right for workers to have to rely on an administrative body within JHU to hold JHU’s own accountable for wrongdoing and unequal treatment.
That’s why in today’s newsletter, we’re asking you the following in preparation for next Monday’s bargaining session:
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Attend Monday’s Bargaining Session as an Observer: Having observers present for bargaining sessions shows the JHU admin that we’re invested in and serious about winning a great contract here at Hopkins. Beyond that, though, observer testimonies have proven effective in conveying to the JHU admin the need to reach an agreement on our terms around policy changes that make all of our lives better.
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Share your experiences with OIE with the JHU admin: Hearing directly from postdocs about their experiences working with OIE makes us safer by highlighting directly to the JHU admin where current protocols fall short in delivering justice to workers who are survivors of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or bullying. If you’ve had an experience with OIE that you would like to raise at this session, we will work with and support you in doing so, or can have our members of our Bargaining Committee read testimony on your behalf. Please fill out the form linked above to submit testimony (can be done anonymously if preferred), or respond to this email to connect with a member of our Bargaining Committee to talk more about it.
“We keep us safe” is not simply a slogan used by folks who are fighting for justice, it is a commitment to each other that the people in our community are the people best equipped to look out for one another and provide help when needed. While we all work together towards a world in which postdocs are not subject to abuses from those who hold power at Hopkins, the first step in that process is giving ourselves the ability to hold those who abuse their power to account.
Please let us know if you have any questions, or would like to talk to a member of our Bargaining Committee privately to discuss anything in more detail. We hope to see you at Monday’s Bargaining Session.
In solidarity,
PRO-UAW Organizing Committee