Over 700 Penn research associates, postdocs sign petition supporting international workers

Research Associates and Postdocs United at Penn gathered outside College Hall on Wednesday to deliver a petition calling on Provost John Jackson Jr. to negotiate over protections for international researchers and appointment lengths.

The petition — signed by over 700 research associates and postdoctoral workers — called on Penn to adopt longer appointment and reappointment lengths, increase transparency surrounding such designations, and expand support for international researchers. RAPUP will meet with University administrators for its next bargaining session next week. 

According to postdoctoral researcher in physiology and RAPUP bargaining committee member Geordan Stukey, the union first introduced proposals related to appointment lengths and international researcher protections in February but has yet to receive a response from the University.

“They’ve had them for at least three months,” Stukey said. “We haven’t seen them cooperate with us in terms of negotiating about them.”

A request for comment was left with a University spokesperson.

Stukey added that the two proposals are a focal point for RAPUP because they affect large portions of its bargaining unit.

“Appointment lengths would increase the general level of stability for postdocs and research associates in our positions broadly, whether or not somebody was international,” Stukey said, adding that international researchers make up 60 to 70% of the union’s bargaining unit.

In the petition, RAPUP members wrote that “the short-term nature of our appointments leaves many of us in precarious positions of employment that can detract from the innovative research we came to Penn to pursue.”

The letter argues that the issue is particularly significant for international researchers, who manage visa applications and renewals tied to their employment. It cites a 2023 National Institutes of Health working group report arguing that one-year appointments are “disproportionately burdensome to international postdoctoral scholars.” According to the research, annual immigration paperwork renewals that can contribute to “stress, financial strain, and job insecurity.”

RAPUP also called on Penn to expand support for international researchers through visa sponsorship options and reimbursement for visa application and renewal costs.

Geronimo Velazquez-Hernandez, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Neuroscience and an organizer of the demonstration, told the DP that international researchers often face logistical and financial challenges when moving to the United States and maintaining their immigration status. 

“It’s a lot of pressure,” Velazquez-Hernandez said. “There’s a lot of stress for international postdocs and research associates.”

Velazquez-Hernandez added that researchers frequently incur expenses related to visa applications, travel, and housing. He said that researchers may have to spend weeks addressing immigration-related requirements instead of focusing on their work, calling it “unnecessary.”

According to Velazquez-Hernandez, the petition’s support demonstrates that the concerns extend beyond international researchers alone.

“It’s really important for us to know that we all are on the same page, and we all know that this is something that the Penn administration should pay attention to,” he said.

Stukey added that the union hopes Penn will engage with the proposals during next week’s bargaining session.

“We expect them to actually come to the table to understand that these are issues that are critical to us, and we expect them to take that seriously and make some actual progress with us,” he said.

Postdoctoral bioengineering fellow Dimpi Mukhopadhyay — who helped to organize the demonstration — told the DP that the petition campaign also served as an organizing effort within RAPUP’s bargaining unit.

“It was a call of unifying us as an organizing vehicle, as well as keeping our eye on the prize,” Mukhopadhyay said. “This is our battle right now. There are more things to do. There are more steps to come.”

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