Postdoctoral scholar Ahmad Othman has been at Northwestern for three years but — like several other colleagues — still works multiple jobs. He works at the University by day while serving as an adjunct faculty member at other universities.
“The reality is that the pay has to be in line,” said Othman, an organizer for the Northwestern University Postdoctoral Union. “If the average rent is $2000, that’s just 50% of your salary before you buy food or health care or anything.”
Othman was one of about 40 postdoctorates, research associates and supporters who marched to the Rebecca Crown Center from The Arch on Tuesday to demand that the University recognize the Postdoc Union.
The group walked down Chicago Avenue to chants like “Protect our jobs — secure our future!” and “Who are we? NUPU! Who are we? UE!” Both Northwestern University Graduate Workers and NUPU are affiliated with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, a national democratic labor union.
Several rally-goers also held signs demanding comprehensive healthcare, protections for international workers and for NU to “share the wealth.”
Upon their arrival, Jake Julia, vice provost for administration and chief of staff, exited the West Tower to receive the crowd’s demands. He watched on as speakers, despite the rain, listed their demands from the University.
Edward Arnold, a postdoctoral researcher at NU for the past six months, began by introducing his research on viruses. He noted that it was “a small proportion of the impactful research that is performed here.”
“In order to perform all this research, we need funding,” Arnold told the crowd from atop a bench. “And unfortunately, we are living in times where funding for vital scientific research can be frozen or cut off at a moment’s notice.”
Arnold added that postdoctorates, research assistants and graduate students all want to focus on how the research they do can improve society — not on whether they have job security.
Northwestern University Graduate Workers President Mounica Sreesai, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in anthropology, also addressed the crowd and echoed Arnold’s sentiment.
Sreesai said she recognized how postdoctorates and research associates together “make up around 4,500 integral workers doing important and crucial labor for this institution with minimal rights.”
“We bring in so much to this University — over a billion in grants alone last year — that without our research and teaching, Northwestern will not be a prestigious academic institution,” she said.
Alongside calls for stable funding streams and livable wages, another demand was protection for international postdoctorates, who make up nearly 70% of NU’s postdoctoral workforce according to NUPU-UE. This emphasis comes as the Trump administration places heightened scrutiny on international students and workers.
Sreesai, an international worker herself, noted that NU gets to secure global appeal because of its diverse postdoctoral workforce.
“While Northwestern lures global funding because of the diversity and perspectives we bring to the table, we are treated with suspicion and are victims to microaggressions everyday,” she said.
Though from Chicago, Othman said science has always been an international, collaborative field. He emphasized how protections for foreign colleagues were necessary for NU to continue attracting the best and brightest minds.
Sreesai drew parallels between the Postdoc Union now and NUGW’s authorization two years ago, which she said was at a similar junction. She also noted the importance of NUGW’s ratified contract from March 2024.
She said NUGW members were scared then, and told rally-goers that similar fears may be felt in the crowd. But, she told the crowd, “this is not something we have to live with.”
“We stand in solidarity with you, and are here to tell Northwestern loudly and clearly that we are not sitting quietly, and that together, we will fight for what we know we deserve,” Sreesai said.
In his speech, UE General President Carl Rosen noted that the Postdoc Union has hit a “critical milestone” with its demand for recognition.
He said it’s a “multi-pump fight at all times,” with universities on the front lines of issues like freedom of speech and “belief in science.”
“UE, your national union, is proud to stand with you on the right side of all of these fights and more,” Rosen said.
Othman expressed pride in Tuesday’s turnout, and said the rally “didn’t come out of nowhere.”
“It’s been countless hours, countless meetings and efforts of a lot of different people,” he said. “It’s really great to see that we’re close to accomplishing our goals.”
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