With our contract came many rights, benefits, and improvements to postdoc life (Figure 1). For the first time we have a guaranteed minimum salary scale and guaranteed annual salary increases. Other benefits include equal and affordable access to health care benefits, career development rights, paid time off and sick leave, protections against discrimination, and a process for fairly resolving disputes—all major gains. And just as importantly, postdocs have an organization that is an unequivocal advocate for our interests in all areas. Postdocs come to UC to do research and pursue excellence—we deserve to be able to focus on our work, and not have to worry about adequate pay and benefits.

The economic gains for postdocs cannot be overstated. Before the union, postdocs had to negotiate individually for salary and benefits; consequently, salaries were uneven across departments and campuses and carried no guarantee of annual raises. Salaries stagnated at near-poverty levels—in one instance a UC postdoc made $18,000 per year for a full time appointment. By contrast, the union contract guarantees an experience-based minimum salary tied to a national standard (the NIH NRSA Fellowship scale). As a result, the average UC postdoc salary has increased by nearly 14% to about $47,800 (as of July 2014). Additionally, the 2014 minimum salary for a starting postdoc now exceeds the living wage for two adults in the cities near each UC campus; however, this is only true for a family of four at one campus (UC Merced). For international postdocs, higher salaries can be particularly important, as some types of guest worker visas do not allow spouses or partners to work.

Even with these advances, many postdocs and their families are still balancing present economic needs against an expectation of future academic success and a higher salary. This can easily lead some postdocs to expend personal funds, take on debt, or both, in order to make ends meet. Still, the newly won benefits, such as affordable health care that includes all dependents, are a significant achievement.

The importance of economic factors does not, however, preclude the many other benefits of unionization, such as standardizing aspects of the postdoc experience and allowing postdocs to focus on our research. For example, we now have a clear process for resolving disputes quickly and fairly, culminating in neutral third-party arbitration if necessary. Having the union as an advocate in the workplace provides incoming postdocs with a peer support system and access to the most up-to-date information on workplace rights and the means to exercise those rights. This element is again especially important for international postdocs, especially when they have to deal with something as complex as the US health care system for the first time.

By joining together collectively in a union, postdocs also gained a voice beyond the campus. For example, UAW 5810 has enabled postdocs to increase our visibility and involvement in politics that influence science and society: this is particularly important at a time when the political climate is at times regressive and ‘anti-science’. For example at the end of 2013, when the Sequester loomed and science funding in the US was threatened, we started an initiative to roll back these cuts and improve overall science funding. Thirty-nine congressional representatives from across the nation supported our initiative by signing onto a letter, circulated by Rep. George Miller and Rep. Jim McDermott, to the Congressional Leadership of both parties. Due to these and many other efforts, the deepest cuts in federal science funding have been averted, but we are continuing to push for research budget increases.

In addition, we have supported open access policies, comprehensive immigration reform, and an array of social justice causes. For instance, we co-sponsored a bill in the California State Legislature to prevent graduate student pregnancy discrimination (AB 2350), and another to extend collective bargaining rights to graduate student research assistants (AB 1834). We have also taken an interest in professional development by hosting events and panel discussions on the tenure track process, applying for fellowships, career options for Ph.Ds, open access, and immigration policies. Through this collective approach we have built a network of postdocs, former postdocs, and other members of the wider scientific community who support each other, whether it be by helping postdocs stand up for our rights in the workplace, by advocating for positive change in the political sphere, or by improving scholarly communication and the assessment of scientific achievement.